Let the Despair times roll
by Rinjai
Summary: The new class is in for Hope's Peak's newest year and are they in for a rude awaking. My first fic, so be gentle, senpai. First off let me say that the starting chapters are not my best but it gets better as it goes on kinda like wine, so take your time and dont judge the first few chapters for the whole story.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, dear reader. Thank you for taking time to check out my story. Let me give everyone a heads up. I have played the games and know how the story goes, but I need actors for this play of mine and here's where I need you.

If you wish to have an O.C. in this story, please submit the following in either a P.M. or a review.

1\. Name of the character (try to have it sound like it's from japan and not just Bob).

2\. Gender (I need 7 guys and 8 girls).

3\. Ultimate Ability (please try to refrain from crazy ones like "Ultimate Underwear Collector" and so forth).

4\. Personality in trials and outside of trials.

5\. Alive, murdered or executed.

6\. Physical features (hair, scars and anything else you can think of).

7\. Clothing.

8\. Background.

9\. Strengths and Weaknesses.

10\. Biggest Secret.

11\. At least 3 lines of dialog (optional).

Well, there you have the guidelines for being accepted in to this fanfic. I will be holding this SYOC open for 1 week, or a shorter period of time if my pool fills up faster and sooner. If your character is chosen, I will contact you and, when everyone is introduced, I will say who thought up who so that everyone knows, if you wish. I will tell you that not everyone might get what they want, such as one person might want to be a murderer, but those slots might be filled up, so I will contact you about changes.

I will try to update this series at any time that I can as I'm not in school, but do have a part time job. Again, thank you for taking the time to read through all of this and I hope that everyone will send me great ideas.

For now, keep calm and despair.

Main O.C.:

Name – Rin Masko

Gender – Male

Ultimate Reporter

Physical features – Has a few scars from more dangerous stories that he's covered, but holds them with pride as if they were from battles that he'd fought in.

Clothing – Normal tan pants and a black undershirt with a gray jacket and a notepad that he keeps with him at all times.

Background – When he was young, all he wanted was to be was a reporter like his mother and father, but when they were killed over a story that they were writing it, did not shake him. Instead, it hardened his resolve further and he pursued his parents' leads until he found the company that was responsible for the hit and exposed every secret that they had until all that was left a pile of rubble and all the CEO's where behind bars. He continued to write stories, topple corrupt businesses and put murderers behind bars.

Strengths – Strong sense of justice. Won't stop until everything is uncovered.

Weakness – Pig-headed. Does not get along too well with others.

Dialogue – "The truth is clear. You're the only one." (Accused the person of murder)

"Wait. That's wrong." (Pointing out a contradiction)

"This is the key to the case." (Presenting evidence)

DANGANRONPA

"Rin! It's time to wake up or you will be late for your first day of school" his mom shouted from down stairs. "You know, that boy gets that habit from you, dear," she stated, turning to face her husband.

"Come on, now. You know that it's just how he is and, no matter how many times you call him, he always comes down at 7:00," he said and, on cue, Rin came rushing down the stairs, fully ready for the day ahead.

"Hey, Mom. Sorry for worrying you, but I'm ready for it and I will see you when I get home," Rin said, already halfway out the door.

"Wait! You forgot your lunch! Come back!"

He was just about to turn around when the darkest thought came into his head.

"Wait a second. Aren't you both dead?"

Rin awoke with a start after his strange dream. Where was he? It seemed like a normal classroom. There was a blackboard up at the front and line after line of desks. The only odd things were the large metal plates covering what he assumed were the windows. He quickly stood up and searched his jacket for his notebook and, when he finally found it, he flipped through it until he found the newest entry.

Day X. Month XX. Year XXXX.

My first day of school at Hope's Peak Academy starts next week. I was amazed that I got accepted into such an amazing school and my classmates must be some of the strongest and smartest teenagers in the entire nation. Maybe even the world. This is going to be a great story!

Well, that cleared up a lot except for the date. It was dated 3 weeks ago. There was no way that he would not have written anything for even a week, especially if he was in a school with a class of such gifted students. More to the point, where was everyone? For a classroom, it was quite empty and it seemed like he was the only one there.

After a quick search of the room, he found nothing of interest, so he decided to take a look out. He found a hallway full of doors. He assumed it was just a bunch of classrooms. What he was more interested in were all the security cameras around and there was even a monitor for some reason. He messed with the monitor, but gave up after nothing happened. Then, he heard it. Voices.

Rin walked down the hallway until he came into a large room with doors that were almost as large where about 15 other teenagers stood. One of the guys turned around.

"Oh. Looks like the final person is here. I think that this as good as time as any to give introductions."

OK. So, the next chapter is the introductions and you still have time to submit your O.C.'s. I am willing to take pools of OC's but, when I pick the cast, and if I do pick from your pool of characters, I will only select one, but there are still a lot of spots open and you still have a week to submit everything that you want.


	2. Chapter 2

As Rin entered the room he noticed that a entire wall was covered with portraits of teenagers with red X painted over there faces and like the class room it also had a security camera and monitor, he saw about 15 other teenagers who were chatting with one another, not realizing that he had entered until one of the male teens turned and noticed him. He was a bit smaller than Rin and had straight, brown hair that went down to his ears and that seemed to be lighter at the top and got darker as it went down. He was wearing a pair of light grey jeans and a dark blue long sleeved shirt with a purple jacket that seemed to be a bit big for him on top of it.

"Oh. Looks like the last one finally arrived. I guess that this a good time as any to introduce ourselves," he said, approaching Rin.

"Hi. My name is Hibiki Hayashi the ultimate hair dresser. It's a pleasure to meet you."

**Hibiki Hayashi**

**Ultimate Hair Dresser**

"Um… Thank you. My name is Rin Masako. I'm the Ultimate Reporter. Nice to meet you," Rin replied.

"Hey, why don't you go around and introduce yourself to everyone, OK?" Hibiki said with a smile.

Rin scanned the room, deciding to talk to two girls near a security camera. One of them was wearing a bright red hoodie and a pair of normal blue jeans. Her hair was a short mess with an ocean blue dye to it with two strands going down to her chest while the other girl was wearing a long blue coat with a dark grey vest underneath with a pair of blue pants. She was also wearing a long purple scarf and a pair of laced boots.

The girl with the scarf noticed him first and spoke up.

"Oh. Hello, there. My name is Euridice Lawson I'm the ultimate political activist, but do call me Euri."

**Euridice Lawson**

**Ultimate Political Activist**

"I'm Kagomi Mikaru the ultimate thief ," the girl in the red hood said.

**Kagomi Mikaru**

**Ultimate Thief**

"Hello. My name is Rin Masako. I'm the Ultimate Reporter."

"Oh! Are you doing a story on us?!" Euri said with what seemed like a twinkle in her eyes.

"Hey, if you're talking to everyone, you should talk to that girl over there next. She's pretty freaked out," Kagomi said, pointing to a girl over by a table with a box on it.

Rin walked over to the girl and saw that she was wearing faded grey jeans with tears near the knees and a black version of Kagomi's hoodie. She was also wearing a black beanie and laced combat boots. She had gorgeous long, blonde hair and had two shiny earrings. She was rather beautiful.

"Hi. My name Rin Masako. I'm -" he was quickly cut off.

"Yeah. What do you want, punk? Can't you see that I'm busy here?" she said, punching the wall.

Rin shot a glare back at the now-laughing Kagomi, finally figuring out why she sent him over here.

"Um… Like I said, my name is Rin Masako. I'm the ultimate reporter," Rin said quietly, trying not to anger the girl.

"Well, why didn't say so? My name is Shiori Kurosawa the ultimate boxer. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rin," she said, sticking out her hand.

**Shiori Kurosawa**

**Ultimate Boxer**

"Uh… Same," Rin said, shaking Shiori's had nervously.

"Hey, do you know where we are or whats' going on?" the boxer asked.

"No. I just woke up in a classroom a while ago. Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, whatever. I'm going to look around some more. Later, Rin." With that, Shiori walked off, looking for something to do or maybe something to punch.

The next group of people that Rin walked over to seemed to be discussing something about weapons. It seemed that there was one girl and two guys.

The girl seemed to be wearing a fancy black suit and had a pair of dark suit pants with black track boots to go with them. She had short, dark copper hair that was neatly brushed to match her attire while one of the boys had long, black pants with a white stripe going down each side and a dark blue jacket with a red shirt with a knife-like logo on the front and the last boy had a pair of forest camo pants with a green webbing belt, a loose, navy blue jacket and a black shirt underneath with a camo baseball cap and a pair of glasses to top it all off.

The girl in black noticed Rin first and spoke quickly.

"Hello. You must be the boy that we left in the classroom. My name is Lin Tachibana the ultimate hunter."

**Lin Tachibana**

**Ultimate Hunter**

"My name is Isamu Maki the ultimate marksman, but if you want, you can call me Sam," the boy in the camo pants said.

**Isamu Maki**

**Ultimate Marksman**

" And saving the best for last, I'm Ryou Hayata the ultimate knife thrower," the boy with the blue jacket said.

**Ryou Hayata**

**Ultimate Knife Thrower**

"Hi. My name is Rin Masako and I'm the Ultimate Reporter, and what do you mean you left me?!"

"Well, you were sleeping so peacefully that we didn't want to wake you," said Isamu.

"Yes, and you never poke a sleeping bear," Lin said with a stern look on her face.

"First off, I'm not a bear and, second, don't you think that it would have been wise to wake me seeing how we don't know where we are?!" Rin shouted.

"Hmm… You have a point there. Oh, well! The past is in the past!" Ryou replied and, with that, they went back to their earlier conversation.

Quickly walking away, he found another pair girls who were talking to each other.

One girl had long, black hair that was tied at the base and she was wearing a white shirt with a tiger print on it and a pair of long, tan pants with white sneakers and the other girl had wavy, golden brown hair and was wearing a pair of black jeans with white shoes and she wore a dark blue long sleeved shirt under a black zipup vest. The girl with the tiger print shirt spoke up first.

"Hey, there. You must be Rin. My name is Fuyu Kana the ultimate beast tamer."

**Fuyu Kana**

**Ultimate Beast Tamer**

"Oh. I still need to introduce myself to someone. Well, OK. My name is Annaisha Tachibana the ultimate transcriber," the girl with the white vest sighed.

**Annaisha Tachibana**

**Ultimate Transcriber**

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, and my name is Rin Masako, the Ultimate Reporter, but how did you know my name?"

"Oh. Hibiki told us," Fuyu said, pointing towards Hibiki who was talking to another guy.

"If you ask me, that guy is way too calm for this right now," Annaisha huffed and they went back to talking.

Rin hurried over to Hibiki who still talking to the guy from before.

"Oh. Rin. There's someone that I want you to meet," Hibiki said, pulling Rin over to the guy that he was talking to. He had short, brown hair and he wore a pair of brown slacks and jacket with a bunch of pockets. Underneath, he had a white dress shirt and a pair of grey tennis shoes.

"Howdy. My name is Makko Watanabe. Nice to meet you. I'm the Ultimate Fisherman."

**Makko Watanabe**

**Ultimate Fisherman**

"Ha! What a lame ability," another boy said while walking over to them. He had short, curly, dark brown hair with a sliver clip to keep his bangs out of his eyes and had two beauty marks under his left eye. He wore a pair of dark violet pants with light grey sneakers and had a red striped shirt and a white jacket with a bit of paint on the cuffs of it.

"My name is Tsubasa Yukata and I am the Ultimate Painter. Charmed, I'm sure."

**Tsubasa Yukata**

**Ultimate Painter**

"Um… I don't think that any ability is worse than any other," Hibiki said, worried.

"No, no. Let the lass think what she wants. I don't mind," Makko said with a bit of anger in his voice.

"Wait… Lass? Are you calling me a girl?!" Tsubasa said, getting angrier by the second.

Rin left the group as Hibiki tried to stop a fight from breaking out. He found another pair. This time, they were a boy and a girl. The boy had auburn hair that seemed to cover his face and was wearing normal clothing – a white shirt and black pants with dark red sneakers – while the girl had short, light violet hair with a dark red headband with two loose ribbons on either side going down to her chin while holding a large book, she was wearing a white shirt with a dark blue collar and a red tie going down the front while she had a dark blue skirt and black leggings , she also had on a pair of brown laced boots and a hooded cardigan.

Before he was even able to get near them, the boy turned around and said, "You know that it's not polite to sneak up on people."

"Wait… But, how did you know that I was there?" Rin said in shock

"I'm blind so I can't see, but my hearing is much better than a normal person. Also, your shoes squeak. By the way, I'm Mamoru Akiyama the ultimate mathematician," the boy said with a grin.

**Mamoru Akiyama**

**Ultimate Mathematician**

'And my name is Miyuki Narukami,I'm the ultimate librarian not that it means much" the girl said bluntly.

**Miyuki Narukami**

**Ultimate Librarian**

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Rin Masako, the Ultimate Reporter," Rin said with a smile.

"Well, I hope that we can be friends, and maybe I can teach you how to be stealthy," Mamoru said with a laugh.

"If I'm trapped on a inland with only you to talk to I might start up a conversation" Miyuki said still with no expression.

Rin left the pair and saw the last two students talking to each other, so he quickly rushed over. There was one boy and one girl. The girl had long, black hair that seemed to shimmer every time it moved and she was wearing a dark blouse with a black coat covering it and had a black skirt to go along with it. She also had a pair of black gloves and black high heels to finish her attire while the boy had shoulder length black hair and had rather pale skin. He wore a black, long sleeved shirt under a light grey waistcoat with black and white pinstriped slacks and had a pair of black dress boots on.

"Um… Hello. My name is Rin Masako. I've been going around and introducing myself to everyone. Do you mind if I have your names?" Rin asked politely.

"Why, yes, you may," the boy said. "My name is Noriyori Oshiro the ultimate forensics specialist. Nice to meet you, Rin."

**Noriyori Oshiro**

**Ultimate Forensics Specialist**

"My name is Sigma the ultimate tactician. That is all you need to know," the girl said coldly.

**Sigma**

**Ultimate Tactician**

With that, Sigma abruptly turned and walked off.

"Well, not much of a talker, now, is she?" Rin said softly.

"No. I couldn't even get a real name out her," Noriyori said with a frown.

Suddenly, the monitor in the room came alive with sound and a small voice came out of it.

"Alright, everyone. Gather in the gymnasium. I've got a special announcement to make in person and it concerns why all of you are here, so get you butts in gear and get over here, already."

With that, it clicked off and everyone stood where they were, unsure about what to do, but then, slowly, one by one, they all made their way out of the large room and found the gymnasium, but the only thing there was sports equipment and a podium with a black and white bear on it.

"Hey. Where is everyone?" Kagomi said with a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm right here, you morons." The voice that they heard from the monitor spoke but, this time, it seemed to come from the bear on the podium.

**o0o**

**Holy cow. Was this one a long one to write, but it was worth it. Now, everyone knows each other and we can get into the meat of the story.**

**So, because I don't want to write a moment for every room on the first floor, you guys get to decide where we go to visit: the art room, the nurse's office, the closet or the rec room, you can P.M where you want Rin to go. Have fun.**

****Hibiki Hayashi(ShadedLyht)****

******Euridice Lawson(Not Official Staff)******

********Kagomi Mikaru(Mango Smoody)********

********Shiori Kurosawa(IamDragonFury)********

**********Lin Tachibana(Mango Smoody)**********

************Isamu Maki(Kristin-Kai-Lundy)************

**************Ryou Hayata(FireDusk)**************

****************Fuyu Kana(ME)****************

******************Annaisha Tachibana(IamDragonFury)******************

********************Makko Watanabe(My older brother's OC)********************

**********************Tsubasa Yukata(ShadedLyht)**********************

************************Mamoru Akiyama(SakuraMoriChan)************************

**************************Miyuki Narukami(bluemoonbutterfly)**************************

****************************Noriyori Oshiro(IamDragonFury)****************************

******************************Sigma(ApexUtopia)******************************

******************************Rin Masko(ME)******************************


	3. Explore 1

"Everyone slowly walked into the gymnasium, but all there was was a bunch of sports equipment and a podium with a black and white bear sitting on it.

"Hey, where is everyone?" Kagomi said with a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm right here, you morons." The voice from the monitor spoke up, but this time, it seemed to be coming from the bear.

The bear suddenly stood up and shouted, "Welcome one and all to your new lives here at Hope's Peak Academy. I'm your headmaster, Monokuma, and here's to a new year of students." After saying that, confetti blew out from the stand.

"Holy crap! The toy just moved!" Isamu said, shocked.

"No way. It's just a doll, right?" Annaisha said.

"No. I'm not a doll or a toy or any of the above. My name is Monokuma and this is where you will live, eat and breath from now on, you know, unless one of you bastards graduates," Monokuma said with a cocky smile on his face.

"Wait. Graduate? You mean that there will be a test or something?" Shiori said.

"No, no. Nothing as boring as that. All that you have to do is kill one of your classmates and get away with it," Monokuma laughed.

"What is this?! Some kinda fucking joke or something?!" Fuyu said, progressively getting angrier.

"Oh, this is no joke. If you want to escape this place, you have to kill one of these bastards and then you will be home free," Monokuma said.

"Everyone started to lose control of their emotions. Some were getting angry and others were looking at each other with scared eyes. Even Lin broke her stoic demeanor. Suddenly, Sigma spoke up.

"Everyone, get a grip. This is exactly what this thing wants. Can't you see that? It wants nothing more than to freak us out, so don't play into its hands and calm down. You're all starting to give me a headache."

"Y-yeah. She's right. There's no reason to kill someone. We just need to calm down and think of a way to get out of here together," Hibiki said, still a bit unnerved.

"Eh. Fine. That's what they all say, but whatever. You'll probably want these," Monokuma huffed as he got off the podium. He walked around the room, giving everyone a small, metallic rectangle.

"Huh? What are these for?" Rin asked.

"They're student ID's. They keep notes, show a map of the floor you're on and has the rules that everyone has to follow, so everything you need is in one convenient package," Monokuma said and, with that, he ran off.

Rin quickly opened the rules section of the ID.

_1\. No harm to the headmaster will be permitted._

_2\. Do not destroy the security cameras or monitors._

_3\. To graduate, one student must kill another and get away with it._

_4\. Up to two students may be killed per murder. Any more and the culprit will be punished._

_5\. Do not lose this ID._

_6\. More rules may be added by the students, but do not need to be followed._

After finishing the rule section, he opened the map and it looked like there was the gymnasium that they were in, a few more classrooms and a cafeteria along with a hallway of bedrooms for everyone, but the more interesting rooms were an art room, a rec. room, a nurse's office and a large hall closet.

When Rin looked up, mostly everyone had calmed down by now and Hibiki was the first to speak.

"OK. So, now that everyone is calmer, I think that it might be a good idea to look around, so let's split up, search everywhere and meet up in the cafeteria in an hour. Does that sound good?"

"Hey, who made you the boss, Hayashi?" Tsubasa said angrily.

"Now, now. No need to bicker over something so small, and he's right. We should check this place out," Mamoru said calmly, and with that, he headed to the door.

"H-hey! Wait up! You need someone to help you see, right? I'll come with you!" Shiori said, quickly chasing after him.

"Well, I guess splitting into pairs might work and will insure safety so, Annashia, care to come with me?" Oshiro said.

"Huh... Um... Sure..." Annashia said and, with that, they walked off together.

Slowly, everyone paired up and left until the only person for Rin to pair up with was Miyuki. Her head shot up from her ID and looked around. It was like she had totally ignored the fact that everyone had left without her and it was only now that she had noticed it.

"Oh. It looks like everyone went off with one another and now it's just us. It seems like we finally got on as island," she said, seemingly bored with the fact that Rin was there.

"Uh... Yeah. I guess so," Rin said, and with that, they left the gymnasium.

DANGANRONPA

Rin and Miyuki arrived at the art room and found the door already open and Tsubasa and Euri were inside.

"Hey, guys. Find anything interesting?" Rin asked.

"Oh. Hey, Rin. Not much. Just a bunch of paint and kinda ugly artwork," Euri said.

"Hey, calling this crap 'art' is giving it too much credit. Most of this stuff is just trash," Tsubasa said, pointing to a painting that seemed to be a replica of the "Birth of Venus", but with Monokuma replacing Venus.

Rin scanned the room, seeing more artwork and a few cabinets with painting supplies and some painting easels, but the thing that stood out the most was a bust of Monokuma at the far end of the room.

"You're right. This is a bunch of junk," Miyuki said with a sigh.

Suddenly, Monokuma popped out of a cabinet.

"Hey, watch what your calling junk, you bastards! I painted most of these myself!" Monokuma said angrily.

"Well, that explains a lot," Euri said.

"Hey, I'll have you know that that bust over there is of the great Monokuma the 2nd," Monokuma said with a smile.

"Wait. The 2nd? So, what does that make you? The 3rd?" Rin asked.

"Nope. I'm the 205th Monokuma in a long lineage of Monokuma's," he said with a giggle and, with that, he ran off.

'Wait. 205th? How long has this bear been around?' Rin thought.

"Hey, it's been about an hour now, right? We should get to the cafeteria, now. OK?" Miyuki said.

"Y-yeah. Let's get going," Rin said, pushing the thought out of his mind.

DANGANRONPA

When the group arrived at the cafeteria, everyone had gathered around a large table filled with food.

"Whoa. Where did all this food come from?" Rin asked.

"Oh. Fuyu and I made everything," Makko said.

As Rin and the others sat down, Hibiki stood up and started to speak.

"Alright, everyone. Let's go over what we've found. Lin and I explored the rec. room along with Fuyu and Ryou."

"Yeah. Not much in there besides a billiard table and a few ping pong tables," Ryou said.

"Mamoru and I looked in the nurse's office. There's just normal first aid stuff in there," Shiori said.

"Well, there was nothing interesting from what I could see," Mamoru said with a giggle.

"Tsubasa and I searched the art room. Rin and Miyuki came by later," Euri said.

"Yeah. Not much in there but a bunch of ugly paintings and art supplies," Rin chimed in.

"Annashia and I went into the hall closet and found a few interesting things like a box of knives and a bunch of cooking equipment," Noriyori said.

"Oh. What's this? The two of you in a dark closet all on your lonesome? What did you two get up to in there?" Kagomi said with a catlike grin.

"It's not what you t-think. We were just looking inside," Annashia said, flustered.

"OK. Putting that aside, I assume that the rest of you searched the classrooms," Sigma said.

Everyone who hadn't spoken nodded, saying that it was just like the ones that they woke up in.

After everyone had finished eating and cleaned up, the monitor in the room came to life with Monokuma on the screen.

"It's now 10:00 PM. The cafeteria will be closing soon. Please return to your rooms for the night." With that, it shut off.

Everyone quickly left the cafeteria and headed into the hallway. A metal gate came down behind them, cutting it off. After arriving in the hallway with the bedrooms, Hibiki spoke up.

"OK, everyone. We made it through today. Let's all get a good night's rest and search for a way out tomorrow." With that, he retried to his room.

When Rin entered his room, he gave it a quick once over. There was a large bed and a nightstand beside it. There was also a large desk. He also saw a door which he assumed led to a bathroom.

As Rin lay on the bed, the only thing that he could think of was that a day had passed in this place and how long would he be there. The one thing he feared the most, however, was what Monokuma had said.

_"To graduate, you must kill one of your fellow students."_

He hoped that it would never come to that, but he couldn't be sure that it would never happen. He slowly drifted off to sleep with that nagging thought still in the back of his head.

**o0o**

**OK. That was an interesting chapter to write, but next up is free time, so I'm going to put up a poll to vote, but you can PM me if you want to, as well. You will have 2 votes, so if you want to vote for your character, go ahead, but please vote for someone else's with your second vote. The top 2 will be shown.**


	4. Free time 1

"Good morning, everyone! It's now 7 AM! It's time to wake up!"

Rin awoke after hearing Monokuma's voice on the monitor.

"Huh… I must have fallen asleep at some point…" Rin said as if there was someone to respond.

He quickly got dressed and headed out the door and he was greeted by Hibiki.

"Oh. Hey, man. Good morning," Hibiki said with a smile.

"Same to you," Rin replied, still groggy from waking up.

"So, a lot of us are going to meet in the cafeteria for breakfast. You want to join?" Hibiki asked.

"Um… Sure. That sounds like a good idea," said Rin.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, everyone had gathered around the same table from the night before.

"Oh. Hey, Rin. Hey, Hibiki," Isamu said through a mouthful of food.

As the two sat down with plates of food, Sigma stood up and started to speak.

"Alright. When everyone is done with their food, I think it might be a good idea to search the area again but, this time, take a different person with you and go to a different room. A new set of eyes is always a good thing."

"OK. That sounds like a good idea and, in an hour, we can switch partners," Annasiha chimed in.

Quickly after everyone had finished their meals, everyone split into groups again.

"Hey, do you mind if we pair up today, Rin?" Euri said, catching his attention.

"Um… Sure," Rin replied.

===Free Time===

-Euri-

:==: Classroom 1F

"Looks like there's nothing here" Euri said with a sigh.

"Yeah. That's a shame, but what did you expect? It is just a classroom" Rin replied.

"I don't know. A way out or something" she said sitting down on a desk

"Well we could talk for a bit, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Rin asked

"Sure, as long as it's not a boring one" Euri said twirling a bit of her hair.

"Excuse me?" Rin replied with a bit of malice in his voice

"Sorry, but you just seem like a boring person, so I assume that your questions are, as well, but go right ahead" she said leaning over the desk till he hair touched the ground.

"Um… OK. So, why did you become a political activist?" Rin asked trying to get the girl's attention

"Oh. That's an easy one. I mostly had my head in books, but then I found the law and joined my old school's debate team and it just seemed like a good fit." she replied flipping her self back up right.

"Really? There must have been a lot of other things that you were good at, right?" Rin questioned.

"Oh, sure. There were some, but there were more things that I was bad at and I focused on them to the point of depression, but then I found the debate team and it was one of the first things I truly excelled at. It was almost like a dream come true. From there, I went on to win nationals and the Tournament of Champions" Euri replied with a gleam in her eyes.

"Wow. All by yourself. Your team must have loved you." Rin said with amazement

"I said that I joined the team. I never said that I made friends." Euri said instantly turning her gaze away from Rin.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Rin said looking down at his feet.

"That's fine. Besides, I think that it's about we meet up with the rest of the group and switch partners." she said jumping down from her desk.

"Oh. OK." Rin replied walking towards to door.

'I think that Euri and I are starting to bond.'

DANGANRONPA

As Rin and Euri left the classroom, they ran into Lin and Makko.

"Hey, guys. Find anything?" Euri asked.

"Not much. We just came from the art room and it was just as Rin described it," Makko replied.

"Well, I think that it might be a good time to switch partners," Lin said.

"OK. I will go with fish boy here and you can go with Mr. Boring here, Lin," Euri said.

"F-fish boy?" Makko said while getting dragged off by Euri.

"Well, it looks like it's just us, Lin," Rin said, watching to two go off together.

"Yep," replied Lin as if the event didn't faze her at all.

==Free Time==

Lin

:==: Nurse's office

"Hmm… This place is a lot smaller than I thought," Rin said, scratching his head.

"Maybe it's because of all the medical equipment in here," Lin said calmly.

"Yeah. Maybe you're right," he replied.

"Well, thankfully we have medical supplies in case someone gets hurt," Lin said, opening a cabinet.

"Oh. It looks like we have blood packs, gauze and a few painkillers," Rin said, taking a brief look inside it.

"Hey, by the way, do you mind if I ask you something, Lin?" Rin asked.

"Sure, as long as it's not boring," Lin replied, still searching the room.

'Why does everyone assume that?' Rin thought to himself.

"Anyways, it's about your clothing. It seems a bit high class for someone who hunts," Rin stated.

"Oh. That. Well, my family has high standing in the Japanese military," she said, turning to face him.

"So, that explains the clothing, but why become a hunter?" Rin asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"When I was younger, my family and I moved to Switzerland and studied from their sniper core. After learning what I needed to know, I competed in shooting contests 'til I was known as a great marksman. Though my family was happy for me, they knew that I could do better, so they wanted to enlist me in the army. Of course, I flatly refused them, mostly because I was in my rebellious years and I don't think that I could ever take another human's life. So, after a while, my parents decided to let me choose what I wanted to do, but on one condition: that I use my training as a sniper to further my career, so I chose hunting to please them and, after competing in tournaments around the world, I became the Ultimate Hunter," she replied, crossing her arms in sage manner.

"I see. So, if you chose to follow your parents' decision, you might be the Ultimate Sniper, instead," Rin said, smiling.

"That, or lying dead in an unmarked grave somewhere," Lin coldly responded.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Rin averted his gaze.

"No. That's fine. Besides, I think that we've searched this place from top to bottom. We should start heading back," Lin sighed, heading towards the door.

"Oh. OK," Rin said, quickly following her.

DANGANRONPA

When Rin and Lin arrived back at the cafeteria, almost everyone was there, give or take a few.

After the last few had arrived, Hibiki started to speak.

"OK. Let's go over where we went and if we found anything new."

After all the accounts of the rooms, they all seemed like the same from yesterday, but then Mamoru spoke up.

"Well, I think I found something new. It might be a way out."

"Wait! What did you just say Mamoru?!" Makko said, choking on a mouthful of water.

"Well, I think that I found something that might help us escape. Well, more like heard," he replied.

"Well, what the hell did you hear?!" Kagomi started to shout.

"I heard the sound of machines, though it was very soft. I think that they were coming from a floor up," Mamoru said, still keeping his composer.

"Well, that doesn't help us too much because the stairs are blocked off because of a metal gate," Ryou sighed.

"No. That actually helps us a great deal because now all we have to do is find a way to get past that gate," Sigma said.

Suddenly, Monokuma appeared from under the table, crawling up to the front with a pile of envelopes.

"Oh. So you all heard that. Well, I guess that can't be helped. So, that's going to be your motive for today," he said with a playful grin.

"Wait… Motive? What do you mean?" Fuyu asked.

"By motive, I mean motive to kill someone," Monokuma laughed.

"Y-you can't be serious! I mean, to kill someone over that is just wrong!" Noriyori said, a bit out of breath.

"Oh, but I am. If you want to know what's on the second floor, you just have to kill someone. Who knows. There might be a way out up there," he said, still laughing.

"By the way, what are those things in your hand?" Sigma said, showing no concern regarding what was just said.

"Oh. These? Well, they were going to be your motive, but I think that I will just hang onto them for a while," he replied, and with that, he ran off.

Silence was the only thing in the room for a while until Hibiki started to talk shakily.

"O-OK. So, there's no need to panic. We just need to find another way out, right?"

"But, what if this is the only way out?! I don't want to die in here!" Tsubasa shouted.

"Yeah! He's right! What if this is the only way?!" Shori said.

Things were starting to get rapidly out of hand. More people started shouting and even a few started to cry, but then Miyuki spoke up.

"What if this is fate? You know, like a test of some sort where he's just trying to get us to kill someone. But, what if we don't do it? What's the worst that he could do? It's obvious that he wants us to kill each other so that he won't harm us."

This didn't seem to completely ease the tension, but the arguing did stop. Then, suddenly, the monitor came to life.

"It's now 10 PM. The cafeteria and other rooms will be closing soon, so have sweet dreams." With that, it clicked off.

Everyone quickly left the cafeteria, still in silence and, as they went back to their rooms, no one spoke.

As Rin entered his room and lay down on his bed, all he could think about was if someone was really going to die.

DANGANRONPA

So, that was the first free time. I hope that everyone liked it and the next chapter will be one, as well. I will put up a poll, but I will take out Euri and Lin because they already were in the spotlight for now.


	5. Free time 2

"OK. It's now 7AM. Time to wake up and have a wonderful day."

"When the monitor finally turned off, Rin awoke, groggy and uneasy.

He slowly got dressed and headed out to the cafeteria to meet his friends.

When he arrived, unlike the other days, it was strangely quiet and everyone who was there looked like they had just been punched in the gut.

"H-hey. Is everyone alright, here?" Rin asked

"Oh. Hey, Rin. Sorry. Everyone is still shaken from yesterday," Hibiki replied.

It was true. Yesterday had made a big impact and even Hibiki seemed like he had lost his normally high spirit.

"Hey. D-don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out, right?" Rin said, trying his best to cheer him up.

"I hope you're right... for everyone's sake..." With that, he left the room.

Rin quickly scanned the room. With everyone still looking scared, he wondered if he could help them feel a bit better.

DANGANRONPA  
===Free Time===  
-Makko-  
:==:Cafeteria

Hey, man. You doing OK?" Rin asked the fisherman.

"Huh? Oh. Hey, Rin. Didn't see you there at first," Makko said, turning to face him.

"Yeah. I'm not doing so hot right now," he said, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Rin said, sitting next to him.

"Well, ever since yesterday, everyone seems to be on edge. Not only that, but I feel like I have to check my back every two minutes," Makko replied, still frowning.

"You wanna talk about it?" Rin asked, placing his hand on Makko's shoulder.

"Really? Thanks, man," Makko said, looking up at Rin.

We talked about the situation that we were in.

"Thanks again. I needed to get that off my chest," Makko said with a smile now on his face.

"Hey. No problem. Glad I could help," Rin replied with a smile of his own.

"You mind if we change the subject? It's gettin kinda heavy," Makko asked.

" Sure. I wanted to ask you something, anyways," said Rin.

"You mean why I'm the Ultimate Fisherman and not something way cooler?" Makko replied with a toothy grin.

"I would not have put it so crassly, but yeah," Rin said, trying not to embarrass himself.

"Thats fine. Besides, it's like fishing chose me, instead," said Makko, propping his hands behind his head.

"Sorry. I don't follow," Rin replied with a confused expression on his face.

"That's OK. Let me explain," the fisherman replied now with an even bigger smile.

"When I was younger, I went fishing almost every day, but as I grew older, I fell out of it. When I finally went to school, I never truly excelled at anything, so I kept falling behind while my friends became better at what they set out to do. I even saw some of my friends become Ultimate's, but I stayed behind in a normal school. But, even so, I wanted to become like them. I wanted to find something that I was better at than anyone else," Makko said while staring into the distance like he was thinking of a fond memory.

"So, what do mean that fishing chose you?" Rin asked, still a bit confused.

"Well, I'm about to tell you. So, I kept searching and trying to find something until one day I was walking down a street and saw a father and son fishing together. They had caught nothing, so I went over there, not saying a thing, and asked if I could see their fishing pole. At first, they were a bit taken aback, but they let me throw just one cast out. I told them to follow me and I slowly circled the pier until I found a small group of bugs floating above the water. So, as if by clockwork, I casted out and, in seconds, I caught an enormous fish. It was like I was a kid again, and then it hit me. Fishing was what I was good at and it was the best part of my life, so I decided to make that my Ultimate Ability," Makko stated proudly.

"Wow. So that's what you meant by fishing chose you," Rin said, looking amazed.

"Yep, and thanks again for letting me vent," Makko replied, getting up from his chair.

With that, Makko left the cafeteria looking a bit happier.

Rin though that they had bonded a bit.

"Well, I think it's about time to look around some more," Rin said to no one in particular.

After a while, Rin found his way to the rec. room and found Sigma sitting at a table with a chessboard.

==Free Time==  
-Sigma-

:==: Rec Room

"Oh. Hello there, Masako." Sigma looked up from her chessboard noticing him.

"Hi, Sigma. What are you doing?" Rin asked, walking over to the young tactician.

"Just practicing chess. Care to join me?" Sigma asked, waving her hand towards the chair across from her.

"Um... I don't know how well I'll do, but OK," Rin replied, taking his seat.

"Then, let's begin," she said, moving the first piece.

They spent time playing chess.

"Hmmm... You were right. You're not that good at this," Sigma frowned, crossing her arms.

"Hey. I told you that from the beginning," Rin replied, scratching his head, still trying to figure out the girl's last move.

"That you did, but I at least thought that you would have been better than that," Sigma said, sighing.

"Anyways, I wanted to talk about yesterday," Rin asked, giving up on his thoughts.

"You mean the motive. Not much to talk about besides how simple it is," she replied, straightening herself.

"Huh? What do you mean simple?" Rin asked, puzzled.

"You see, any good motive will either threaten you with something or offer you something that you want," Sigma said firmly.

"But, isn't that what Monkuma is doing?" Rin said, still a bit confused.

"No. What he's offering is a chance of a possible escape, even though he stated that, if we kill someone, we escape," Sigma replied, picking up one of the pawns and toying with it.

"I see. So, what you're saying is that the motive seems pointless because, if we do give in, we already have a way out?" Rin asked, trying to figure it out.

"True, but that is if the bear is telling the truth," Sigma said coldly.

"It's all about tactics. He wants to see how far we will go to achieve a goal. I can only hope that it won't come to that," Sigma sighed, putting the chess piece down.

"I see, but what if someone does die? Do you think that Monokuma will just let the killer go free?" Rin said, frowning.

"That, I do not know yet. So, can I rely on you to not kill someone?" Sigma replied, looking directly into Rin's eyes.

"What?! How can you say something like that?!" Rin asked, a bit unnerved by the question.

"Well, we are in a room together all alone, so this would be a perfect time to kill someone," she replied, crossing her arms, still staring at him.

Through some strange conversation, Rin thought that they had bonded a bit.

Suddenly, a scream rang out.

"What the hell was that?!" Rin said, jumping up from his seat.

"I don't know, but I think that we should go and check it out," Sigma replied, rising from her seat and running to the door

They quickly ran through the halls until they found Annasiha standing in front of the art room with her hand over her mouth.

"Annashia. What happened?" Rin asked, out of breath

"I-in t-there," she said, pointing inside the room, visibly shaking from fear.

Rin and Sigma looked inside the room and what they saw shook Rin to the core.

A supplies cabinet was on the ground with the hand of one of their friends sticking out from underneath it.

Suddenly, the monitor came to life.

"A body has been discovered! After a brief investigation period, a class trial will be held." With that, the monitor switched off.

"Quickly, Annashia! Go and gather everyone and bring them here!" Sigma barked orders to the frightened girl, snapping her out her trance.

"What? Oh. Y-yeah. OK," Annashia said, running off.

Soon, everyone had gathered in front of the art room with scared looks on their faces as they saw the scene.

Soon, Shiori said what was on everyone's mind.

"So, w-who is it?"

"Here. Help me lift it up, Ryou," Fuyu said, walking towards the cabinet.

As they lifted it up, the gasps of horror were heard throughout the room as we saw the face of the victim.

There she was, Kagomi Mikaru, the Ultimate Thief, lying dead underneath the cabinet.

DANGANRONPA

**OK so the first blood has been drawn, who will be the blackened how will this all play out, if you want PM me your ideas. **


	6. Investigation 1

What the hell is happening? Why did it have to come to this? Why? Why did someone have to die?

Kagomi's body was lying face down on the floor of the art room while everyone else had circled around her and Tsubasa was the first to speak.

"W-what the fuck, man?!" he shouted.

"Why did this happen?" Fuyu said, on the verge of tears.

Suddenly, Monokuma came rushing through the door and pushed his way past the students.

"Wow. So, someone's finally popped their murder sherry, and what brutality. It makes my cold heart skip beats," the bear said, smiling.

"What the hell do you mean, you stupid bear?!" Hibiki shouted, showing anger for the first time since Rin had met him.

"Oh. Was I not clear? I'm saying that one of you bastards killed her," Monokuma replied, holding a claw up to his face.

Silence filled the room like a heavy fog over an Irish town, but Sigma was first to break the silence.

"You said something about a Class Trial. What is that, exactly?" she asked.

"Oh. So one of you did notice that. Maybe you're not all a bunch of morons," Monokuma replied, giving a small laugh.

"Get to the point, bear," she said angrily.

"Right. Right. So, when a murder occurs and after the body or bodies are discovered, after a brief investigation period, a trial will be held to see if everyone can weed out the killer in the group," Monokuma said, crossing his arms.

"Wait. So, you don't just let the killer go?" Rin interjected.

"No. Of course not. What kinda role model would I be if I let a killer get away with murder?" Monokuma replied with a look of bliss on his face.

"Oh. That reminds me. I almost forgot to give you all something," he said, pulling a tablet seemingly out of nowhere.

When Monokuma pressed it, everyone's ID's suddenly gave off a loud beep. Rin quickly grabbed it out of his pocket and gave it a brief look over.

Truth Bullets have been added.

Monokuma File No.1 has been added.

"Wait. What the hell are Truth Bullets?" Rin asked the bear.

"Oh. Those are your evidence for the case, so anything you find that's important will go straight to there, and that file that I just gave you is your first, so everyone have fun and remember that a killer is amongst you," Monokuma said, running out the door.

Rin gave the file a quick once over.

**Evidence Added.**

**Monokuma File No. 1**

**::l Victim: Kagomi Mikaru l**

**::l Time of death: Between 12pm and 1pm l**

**::l Cause of Death: Massive trauma to the back of the head l**

**::l Additional Notes: Died instantly l**

"Well, I guess that helps a bit," Rin said to no one in particular.

"Alright. Let's split up into pairs a search everywhere. Understood?" Sigma started to bark out orders. "Noriyori. Can I trust you to look over the body?" she said, turning to face him.

"Um… Yes. Of course," he replied with a cough, kneeling to get a closer look.

"Shiroi and Makko. Do you mind keeping watch here?" Sigma asked the two.

They both nodded and set themselves behind Noriyori.

"Alright. Now, let's start this investigation," she said, grabbing the closest person who happened to be Lin, dragging her off out the door.

Slowly, everyone paired up and left the room and that's when Miyuki grabbed Rin's sleeve.

"Do you mind if we pair up? I don't know how much help I will be, but I will try my best," she said with a determined look on her face.

"Um… OK. If want to," Rin replied.

Investigation Start

:==: Art Room

"OK. Where do you think we should start?" Rin asked.

"Well, in crime novels, the detectives always start at the crime scene, so how about here?" she replied.

"OK. Let's look around," said Rin.

\- Noriyori

"Hey. found anything yet?" Rin asked.

"No. I'm sorry, but I'm no miracle worker. I will probably have it ready for you before the trial," he replied with a cough. "But, I did find something odd," Noriyori said.

"Mind sharing with the class?" Miyuki asked.

"Sure. There's a bit of glass under the body. Not much, but it's still odd that it was found under her hand," he replied with a cough.

"So, what makes that important?" Rin asked with his hand scratching his chin.

"Well, you see, Rin, if the body was crushed, all of the glass would be on top of her and definitely not under her hand," Miyuki replied.

"Hmm… I guess that makes sense," Rin said, still wondering.

"Also, her room key seems to be missing," Noriyori added.

"What? It's not with her?" Rin asked in surprise.

"Nope. Sorry," he replied with a cough, shaking his head.

"Well, anyways, thanks, Noriyori," they both said, walking away.

**Evidence Added: Glass under Kagomi's hand.**

**There were small fragments of glass found under Kagomi's hand.**

"Well, Rin, we were in this room before. Notice anything missing?" Miyuki asked.

"Now that you mention it, that ugly bust of Monokuma is gone," he replied, pointing to the empty podium.

"Let's check it out," Miyuki said, walking over to it.

-Podium

"Hey. Look at this, Rin," Miyuki said, looking at the top of the podium.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well, it's a blank circle surrounded by a ring of dust," she replied.

"Oh. So, that means that the bust was moved recently, right?" Rin asked.

"Yep, but now the question is where did it go?"

**Evidence Added: Missing Bust.**

**The Monokuma bust has been moved recently.**

"Well, I think that's all we can get from here," Miyuki sighed, moving away from the podium.

\- Cabinet

"Jeez. Whoever did this must have been hella strong," Rin said, surveying the damage.

"Well, not entirely," Miyuki replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"Here. I'll show you. Hey. Shiori. Can you help Rin lift the cabinet?" she said, calling the boxer over.

"Sure. Alright, Rin. On three," Shiro said, bending down to pick up the cabinet

"Um… OK," Rin replied, doing the same.

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"THREE!"

As they lifted it up, a small smile appeared on Miyuki's face.

"Ah. Just as I thought."

"Huh? What is it?" Rin asked, out of breath.

"Look. The cabinet was moved from the wall and not just tipped over," Miyuki replied with a glint in her eyes.

"So, what?" Shiori said, still a bit confused.

"I think I get. It's a lot easier to tip it over if someone is behind it, right?" Rin said, looking it over.

"Oh. So, someone hid behind it and pushed it when Kagomi entered the room," Shiori said, excited.

"Maybe. Just maybe," Miyuki said, still looking at the cabinet.

**Evidence Added: Moved Cabinet.**

**The cabinet in the art room was moved from the wall and then pushed over.**

"I think that's all we can find in here," Miyuki said, heading towards the door.

"Hey! Wait!" Rin said, following closely behind her.

:==: Hallway

\- Ryou

"Hey. You guys find anything good?" Ryou said, walking over to them.

"A bit. How about you?" Rin asked.

"Not much, but something was strange yesterday," he replied.

"How so?" Miyuki chimed in.

"Well, at about 3 PM yesterday, I saw Kagomi in the art room," Ryou said, crossing his arms, trying to think back.

"How do you know it was 3 PM?" Rin asked.

"Well, after that, I saw Tsubasa and asked him the time and it was 3:05 PM. He was probably going to the art room himself," Ryou replied.

**Evidence Added: Ryou's Testimony**

**Kagomi was seen in the art room yesterday around 3 PM.**

"Thanks for the tip, Ryou," Miyuki said with a smile.

"Hey. No problem. Glad I could help." With that, he left the pair.

:==: Classroom

-Tsubasa

"Oh. Hey, Tsubasa. I wanted to ask you something," Miyuki said, running over to the painter.

"Yeah. What do you want?" He turned around with an annoyed look on his face.

"I wanted to talk about yesterday around 3 PM," Miyuki asked, completely ignoring his expression.

"Yeah. What about it? I just ran into that moron Ryou and then went to the art room," Tsubasa replied.

"Did you happen to run into Kagomi?" Rin asked.

"What? Why would I and what's with all these questions?" Tsubasa said, getting progressively angrier.

"Oh. No reason. Thank you for your time," Miyuki said and quickly left the room.

"Hey! Wait up!" Rin said, running behind her.

**Evidence Added: Tsubasa's Testimony**

**After meeting with Ryou yesterday, Tsubasa entered an empty art room.**

:==:Hallway

-Annashia

"Hey! Miyuki! Slow down, will you?" Rin said, out of breath.

"Oh. Hey, you two. What are you up to?" Annashia had just turned the corner, spotting them.

"Just looking for clues. Have you found anything?" Miyuki asked, finally slowing down.

"Jack squat. You?" she replied.

"Well, a few things, but do you mind if we ask about how you found the body?" Rin asked, still trying to catch his breath.

"Oh. That. Well, I needed a bit of paint for a project that I'm working on, so I went to the art room, but I heard a large crash and ran in and found the scene," Annashia replied.

"So, did you hear anything beforehand?" Rin asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, I thought that I had heard something in the storage closet before then – maybe around 9 AM – but when I looked, it was too dark to see anything," Annashia replied, crossing her own arms.

**Evidence Added: Annashia's Testimony.**

**Heard a noise in the hall closet around 9 AM, but found nothing.**

"Well, thanks, Annashia. I think that we should go and check it out, Rin," Miyuki said, running off.

"Um… Thanks again, Annashia. FREAKING HELL! SLOW DOWN, MIYUKI!"Rin shouted, chasing after the girl.

:==: Hall Closet

"O-OK. We-we need to set some grounds if you keep running from me," Rin said, panting.

"Now is not the time. We need to search this place. Let's go," Miyuki said, running off in a different direction.

"Oh, for the love of God. It feels like my heart is going to explode," Rin replied, still gasping for air.

-Stack of Boxes

"This looks like as good a place as any to start," Miyuki said, opening the first box.

"So, what have we got here?" Rin asked, looking in.

"It seems to be a box of knives, but one of them is missing. See?" Miyuki replied.

"Huh. You're right."

**Evidence Added: Box of Knives.**

**A box of knives found in the storage closet, but one knife is missing.**

"Hey. What's that over there?" Rin said, pointing near a shelf.

"It looks like a room key and it has Kagomi's name on it," Miyuki said, picking it up.

"Here's a rope next to it and it has a few knots in it, but it's been cut," Rin said, holding it up.

**Evidence Added: Kagomi's Room Key.**

**It was found in the storage closet.**

**Evidence Added: Tied Rope.**

**A rope found in the storage closet. Has a few knots tied into it, but it has been cut.**

"But, what does this all mean?" Rin asked.

"Well, there is one place that we haven't checked, yet," Miyuki said, holding up the room key.

:==: Kagomi Mikaru's room

"Well, let's take a look around," Rin said, walking into the now-unlocked room.

"Hey. Look here on the desk," Miyuki said, walking over.

"What is it?" Rin asked.

"It seems like a piece of paper with a bunch of times and a name written at the top," Miyuki replied.

"Whoa. Hold on. Let me see that," Rin said, moving beside Miyuki.

Tsubasa

Art Room

3:10-4:00

I will enact my plan when he leaves.

"Wh-what the hell does this mean?! What plan!?" Rin started to shout, but that's when the monitor turned on.

"Everyone, please gather in the gymnasium. The Class Trial will begin shortly." With that, it turned off.

"Rin. I think it's time that we leave," Miyuki said, tugging his sleeve and snapping him out of his trance.

"Yo-you're right," Rin replied.

**Evidence Added: Kagomi's plan.**

**A piece of paper was found in Kagomi's room with a time and Tsubasa's name written on it.**

:==:Hallway

-Noriyori

"Oh. Thank goodness I ran into you guys," Noriyori said with a cough, bumping into Rin and Miyuki.

"Did you find something interesting, Noriyori?" Miyuki asked.

"In fact, I did. I found rope burns on Kagomi's wrists, but the oddest thing that I found was a bit of marble mixed in with the glass on top of her body," he replied, coughing slightly.

"I'm sending you the report now," he said, pushing a button on his ID.

**Evidence Added: Noriyori's Report.**

**::l Found pieces of marble mixed with glass on top of the body l**

**::l Rope burns were found on the victim's wrists l**

"Thanks, man. Now, let's head inside and see what this bear has planned for us," Rin replied, opening the gym's doors.

The gym looked like it always had. Everyone was there minus one, but then Monokuma popped up from behind his podium.

"Wow. I'm glad that all you bastards could make it, because let me tell you that you won't want to miss this," Monokuma said, pushing a button on his podium.

A large rumbling sound could be heard from underneath the floorboards and a large section opened up, revealing a large elevator.

"Alright, everyone. Pile in." With that, he jumped behind his podium and disappeared.

Everyone quietly walked into the elevator, giving weary glances to those next to them, for one of the students here was a murderer and all Rin could think was one word. "Why?"

o0o

**Evidence List:**

**Monokuma File No. 1**

**Glass under Kagomi's hand**

**Missing Bust**

**Moved Cabinet**

**Ryou's Testimony**

**Tsubasa's Testimony**

**Annashia's Testimony**

**Box of Knifes**

**Kagomi's Room Key**

**Tied Rope**

**Kagomi's Plan**

**Noriyori's Report**


	7. Trial 1 Part 1

As the group descended, Rin's mind was racing for answers.

Why was Kagomi of all people killed?

Where was the Monokuma bust and how did it play into this?

Most importantly, what was Kagomi's plan?

Finally, the elevator stopped and everyone walked out into a large room that was designed like rainforest with large trees and exotic birds painted on the walls, but in the center was a ring of sixteen stands with their names on them and a large throne-like chair standing behind it.

As the group walked towards the stand, they saw Monokuma sitting on the throne.

"Ah. So, you all made it here in one piece. Now, take the spots with your names on them, OK?" Monokuma said with a smile on his face.

"Jeez. What's that?" Euri said, pointing towards where Kagomi would stand. In her place was a picture of the girl with a red 'X' painted across her face.

"Oh. That? Just because they died before they had their chance to shine does not mean they don't get to sit in on the trial," the bear replied.

Suddenly, Rin made the horrific realisation.

"W-wait. That's just like the pictures in the room that we all met up in. D-does that mean that…?" Rin was cut short.

"Wow. One of you catches on quickly. Yep. All of those pictures are past failures – ones who either did not get away with it or failed to find the culprit."

"W-what do you mean by 'failed to find the culprit?'" Annashia asked shakily.

"Well, I guess that now is a good time to explain the rules of a class trial," Monokuma replied, standing up.

"Everyone here will debate about the facts of this case, trying to find the culprit. At the end of the trial, a ballot will be cast and you will vote on who you think the killer is. If you guess right, the killer will be punished, but if you guess wrong, everyone besides the culprit will punished. That's the gist of it," Monokuma said, lounging back in his chair.

"Just one more thing and then we will start," Sigma spoke for the first time since coming out of the elevator.

"Yeah? What? Is it 'is the killer among us' or some crap like that?" Monokuma replied, looking a bit annoyed.

"No. It's about Akiyama. Will he be OK with his blindness?" Sigma asked calmly.

"Oh. That? I gave him a special ID. It's an audio ID that goes into detail about the item or subject that you're currently talking about.

"OK, then. Let's begin," Sigma said, taking her spot.

CLASS TRIAL IS NOW IN SESSION

"Alright. If it's debating you want, then I got that in spades," Euri said, taking a deep breath.

"Whatdidthekillerwant? WhydidKagomidieintheartroomandhowdidtheculpirttipoverthecabinet?"Euri started to throw questions a mile a minute .

"Hey, Euri. Slow down. We can't keep up," Ryou said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Hmph. You guys are all so slow," Euri said, pouting a bit.

"Well, where do you guys want to start?" Miyuki asked everyone.

"Hmm… How about... the state of the body?" Annashia replied.

"As good place a to start as any," Noriyori said with a shrug.

_**Non-stop Debate is about to begin. Weak points are underlined and break points are bolded and underlined. To start, only one truth bullet will be loaded, but more will be added later.**_

* * *

Non-stop Debate

Ammunition: Monokuma File No. 1

"The body was under the cabinet," Annashia noted. "She was lying face down, as well."

**"So that means that she got crushed?"** Tsubasa asked.

"Man, what a way to die," Makko stated.

"No! You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

* * *

"No. The Monokuma file says that she was killed with massive blunt force," Rin said, crossing his arms.

"Y-yeah? So? The bear probably just put that down instead," Tsubasa replied, a bit flustered.

'Au contraire. If the body was crushed, I would have put down 'crushed,'" Monokuma piped up.

"OK. Fine. The body wasn't crushed. What difference does it make?" Makko asked.

"Well, in my opinion, it means that a different weapon could have been used," Noriyori chimed in with a cough.

"Wait! You're saying that something besides the cabinet could be the murder weapon?!" Ryou gasped.

"So, then, what was used?" Lin asked.

* * *

Non-stop Debate

Ammunition: Missing Bust

"What if the killer beat her over the head with their fists?" Shiori suggested.

"There's no way that someone could do that and stay clean!" Isamu told them.

"What if they used a painting to smash her head?" Fuyu asked.

"No none of them were moved," Miyuki stated.

"**Maybe the killer grabbed the closest thing to them**," Mamoru mused.

"I agree!" Rin declared.

* * *

"I think that Mamoru is right and the weapon that was used was the Monokuma bust," Rin said.

"Wait! Seriously?!" Makko shouted.

"I'm pretty sure that the killer grabbed the bust and hit Kagomi with it," Rin replied.

"Don't play games with me!" Euri suddenly shouted.

"Wait. What?" Rin said, taken aback.

"There's no way that the killer used the bust!" Euri continued to shout.

"B-but I'm sure of it," Rin replied.

"Oh, yeah? Well you're going to need more than your hunch to prove it," Euri told him.

* * *

Cross Swords

Useable Swords: Noriyori's Report

"Why would==/== the killer use the bust?"

"There's just==/==no point."

"The killer would==/==have to move the body."

"If he d==/==id, why?" Euri asked.

...

DEVELOPMENT

...

"What if the body was moved and then the cabinet was tipped over?" Rin suggested.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Where's the ==/== bust now?"

"How come no one ==/== found it?"

"You want to ==/== know why?"

"The ==/==bust was never used."

**"Unless you have proof, there's no way that it was used,"** Euri claimed.

"I will cut that claim to pieces!" Rin declared.

* * *

"Look at Noriyori's report. It says that pieces of marble was found on Kagomi's body," Rin told her.

"Oh, please. That could have been anything," Euri replied angrily.

"But, combined with the fact that the bust was made of marble and it's now missing, I think that it's safe to say that the bust could have been used to kill," Sigma replied.

"... Fine. I guess if you put it like that, I have to believe you," Euri sighed.

"Well, what should we discuss now?"Ryou asked.

"Well, we know that the body was found in the art room, but why was she there?" Mamoru asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Wait. What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"Well, is there a reason for her to be there?" Mamoru replied.

* * *

Non-stop Debate

Ammunition: Ryou's Testimony

"Was she ever in the art room before?" Mamoru asked.

"Well, when we split up, I searched with her," Makko began. "It was the nurse's office, though."

"I searched the hall closet with her the second time," Tsubasa told them.

"You know, I think that **it was the first time that she was in the art room**," Isamu stated.

"No. There had to some point. She was in there before, right?" Miyuki asked.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

* * *

"No. She was in there before. Ryou's statement proves that," Rin told them.

"Huh? Hey. I guess you're right," Ryou replied, smiling.

"Come on. Why didn't say anything from the start?" Shiro said angrily.

"Hehe. Sorry about that," Ryou replied, scratching his cheek.

"OK. Now that we know that she was in there, why was she in there?" Sigma asked.

(Why was she there?)

* * *

Why was Kagomi's body found in the art room?

She wanted to paint

**She wanted to kill someone**

She wanted to confess her love

"I've got it!" Rin declared.

* * *

"The reason that Kagomi was in the art room is that she was going to enact a plan," Rin informed them.

"Huh? What kinda plan?" Annasiha asked.

"I know that this might sound strange, but... I think that Kagomi was going to kill someone."

"Wait! What!?" Noriyori said, choking a bit with a cough.

"Like I said, it's a bit strange, but I think that that's why she was in there," Rin replied.

"Do you have any proof?" Sigma asked calmly.

(I do have proof!)

* * *

Present Evidence!

1l: Monokuma File No. 1

2l: Glass Under Kagomi's Hand

3l : Missing Bust

4l: Moved Cabinet

5l: Ryou's Testimony

6l: Tsubasa"s Testimony

7l: Annashia's Testimony

8l: Box of Knives

9l: Kagomi's Room Key

10l: Tied Rope

**11l: Kagomi's Plan**

12l: Noriyori's Report

"Here it is!" Rin declared.

* * *

"Look at this piece of paper," Rin told them. "It was found in Kagomi's room and it states that she was going to enact her plan. I believe that her plan was to kill the person that she was writing about."

"Wait a second. You mean me?" Tsubasa said hesitantly.

"Hold on. If she was going to kill Tsubasa – and this is a big if – why did she end up dead?" Fuyu asked.

"I know. When she went to kill him, Tsubasa killed her first!" Makko exclaimed.

"Yeah. That makes sense," Ryou agreed.

"So, that makes him the killer!" Shiro shouted.

"Are you all sure about that?" Sigma asked.

"Huh? Why wouldn't we be?" Euri asked.

"She's right. We don't have any proof," Rin said.

"Where do you think you're aiming?!" Isamu shouted.

"Wait, Isamu. We don't have the proof to convict Tsubasa," Rin replied.

"Screw that! I know that he did it!" Isamu said, still shouting.

(I know that Tsubasa didn't do it and I have the proof!)

* * *

Cross Swords Battle

Useable Swords:

::l Tsubasa's Testimony

::l Glass Under Kagomi's Hand

"Tsubasa ==/== did it!"

"He hit her with the==/== bust and killed her!"

"There's no one==/== else that was capable!"

Advancement

"Tsubasa isn't the only one who could have killed Kagomi."

"A lot of others had the chance to."

"No! Tsubasa ==/== did it!"

"Kagomi's plan ==/== proves it!"

"He killed her after==/== learning of the plan!"

"**And seeing her in the art room!**" Isamu declared.

"I will cut that claim to pieces!" Rin stated.

Used Sword: Tsubasa's Testimony

* * *

"No. Tsubasa was in the art room, but didn't see her," Rin told them.

"Oh, bull. He could just be lying," Isamu replied angrily.

"But, then why does Kagomi's plan say how long he was in there?" Rin asked.

"M-maybe she was outside the room," Isamu retorted.

"No. Ryou's testimony says that she was in the art room and only five minutes passed before Tsubasa entered the room," Rin replied.

"OK, wise guy. Then, where did Kagomi hide from Tsubasa?!" Isamu asked angrily.

(Why is Isamu so defiant about another killer?)

* * *

Where was Kagomi hiding?

:l In plain sight

:l** Behind the cabinet**

:l Under a chair

"I've got it!"

* * *

"Kagomi was hiding behind the cabinet when Tsubasa entered the room," Rin declared.

"Wait! You've gotta be kidding me!" Isamu said.

"No. I'm not. Remember: she was the Ultimate Thief so, in theory, it might have been possible for her to do it."

"I think he's right, man," Ryou replied.

"Geh. Fine. I'll go along with it for now," Isamu said, adjusting his glasses.

"Wait a second. I think that we still need to talk about the body," Noriyori said with a cough, crossing his arms.

"What more is there to discuss?" Shiori asked.

"Well, to be precise, the rope burns on her wrists," Noriyori replied with a cough.

"W-wait. Rope burns?" Annashia asked uneasily.

"Yes. It's as if she was tied up," Noriyori replied.

"But, we didn't find any rope at the scene," Makko stated.

"So, where did she get those burns?" Sigma asked.

* * *

Non-stop Debate

Ammunition:

::l Kagomi's Room Key

::l Tied Rope

::l Moved Cabinet

"Maybe she had them before she came here," Shiori suggested.

"Oh, come on, now! You're just throwing out random ideas!" Makko shouted.

"**Maybe she got tied up somewhere**," Annashia asked.

"You mean that she was into that kinda thing?!" Euri gasped.

"I agree!"

* * *

"I think that you're right about how Kagomi was tied up, Annashia," said Rin.

"You see, Miyuki and I found this rope in the hall closet," Rin continued.

"But, that could have been used for anything," Fuyu brought up.

"Yeah. Unless you have proof that it was used to tie up Kagomi," Isamu stated.

(I think that I just might have proof.)

* * *

Present Evidence x2!

1l: Monokuma File no.1

2l: Glass Under Kagomi's Hand

3l: Missing Bust

4l: Moved Cabinet

5l: Ryou's Testimony

6l: Tsubasa"s Testimony

7l: Annashia's Testimony

8l: Box of Knives

9l: **Kagomi's Room Key**

10l:**Tied Rope**

11l: Kagomi's Plan

12l: Noriyori's Report

"Here it is!"

* * *

"We also found Kagomi's room key in the hall closet," Rin said, pointing it out on his ID. "There's Annashia's testimony, too."

"Wait. You're saying that what I heard was Kagomi? But, why didn't she call out when I entered?" Annashia asked.

"I think that I can answer that," Hibiki replied, speaking for the first time since entering the trial.

"W-wait, Hibiki. You know?" Rin asked, a bit taken aback.

"Yes, and it's quite obvious," Hibiki said calmly. "She still planned to kill someone!" he suddenly shouted.

"Wait! What?! You mean that, even after she got tied up, she was going to kill Tsubasa?!" Ryou gasped.

"No. I don't think that Tsubasa was the intended target, anymore," Hibiki said, crossing his arms.

"Then, who was she after?" Fuyu asked.

"I believe that whoever tied her up was going to be her victim," Hibiki explained.

"So, how did she escape, then?" Annshia asked.

* * *

Non-Stop Debate

Ammunition:

::l Box of Knives

::l Kagomi's Room Key

::l Missing Bust

"Maybe she ran out of the room, still tied up," Ryou suggested.

"Are you forgetting that the rope was still in the closet, you moron?" Tsubasa said sternly.

"I know. She broke free by **using a piece of loose metal to cut herself free**," Makko said with a smile.

"Maybe she escaped by tearing the rope with pure force," Shiroi said, pounding her fist into her palm.

"She's not that strong. At least, I don't think so," Noriyori said, putting a hand to his head.

"You've got that wrong!"

Ammunition used: Box of Knives

* * *

"No. I think that the way she escaped was that she used a knife from a box in the closet. So, she got free and went after her assailant," Rin continued.

"Wait. So, she went to the art room to kill someone. So, how did she end up dying?" Ryou asked.

"If I could hazard a guess, even though she surprised the culprit, they fought back and killed her," Mamoru shrugged.

"No. I don't think that that's the case. If you look at the crime scene, nothing seemed to have been disturbed," Noriyori stated.

"So, then, how did she get killed?" Lin asked.

* * *

How did the killer get the drop on Kagomi?

:l The killer has E.S.P.

:l **The killer was hiding**

:l The killer saw Kagomi enter the room

"I've got it!"

* * *

"I believe that the killer was hiding in the art room when she entered, or at least wasn't seen," Rin said.

"Wait. We've already established that the only place to hide was behind the cabinet," Lin stated.

"So, then, the killer was behind the cabinet and, when Kagomi entered the room, they struck," Rin continued.

"But, we still need to answer a few things," Mamoru said.

"Like, where did the glass under Kagomi's hand come from and where is the Monokuma bust now?" he continued.

* * *

A/N So first part of trial one is done next time the killer will be revealed and punished, sorry it took so long


	8. Trial 1 Part 2

Trial Will Now Resume

* * *

"OK. Let's try to answer one question at a time and go over what we do know," Sigma stated.

"Well, we know how Kagomi ended up in the art room and how she was killed," Lin said calmly.

"We know that she was planning to kill Tsubasa," Noriyori sighed.

"OK. Now that we have a baseline, what do we need to ask?" Sigma questioned.

"Um… How about the placement of the body?" Annashia asked.

"Alright. Let us begin," Sigma continued.

* * *

Non-stop Debate

Ammunition:

Monokuma File No. 1

Glass under Kagomi's hand

"When we found the body, it was under the cabinet," Sigma pointed out.

"Yeah, and when Ryou and I got it up, there was blood everywhere," Fuyu said, shaking.

"Gah. Don't remind me," Ryou said, cringing.

"But, if she was killed from behind with the Monokuma bust, how did she end up there?" Makko asked.

"I know that** the body was moved**!" Shiori exclaimed.

"No! You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

Ammunition used: Glass under Kagomi's hand

* * *

"No. I don't think that's possible. Remember what we found under Kagomi's hand?" Rin pointed out.

"Wait. Do you mean the glass?" Noriyori asked, a bit confused.

"Yes. The glass, and if she was moved, there would be none," Rin continued.

"OK. That's nice and all, but where did the glass come from, then?" Euri asked.

"Maybe from the cabinet," Ryou suggested.

"No. The glass is too small for it to be from the cabinet," Noriyori pointed out.

(Wait a minute. Small glass? I think I know what it is) Rin thought.

* * *

Flashing Anagram

...

_/_/_/S/S/_/_/

...

_/_/_/S/S/E/_/

...

_/L/_/S/S/E/_/

...

G/L/A/S/S/E/S

(It's all coming together!)

* * *

"I think I found out what the glass is," Rin said, catching everyone's attention.

"OK. Then, where did it come from, wise guy?" Euri protested.

"It came from a pair of glasses," Rin replied.

"Wait. A pair of glasses? Then, that means…" Ryou said, shocked.

"That's right. It can be only one person," Rin continued.

* * *

Make an accusation!

Hibiki Hayashi

Lin Tachibana

Rin Masko

Ryou Hayata

Fuyu Kana

Annashia Tachibana

Kagomi Mikaru [DEAD]

Euridice Lawson

**[Isamu Maki]**

Tsubasa Yukata

Miyuki Narukami

Sigma

Mako Watanabe

Shiro Kurosawa

Mamoru Akiyama

Noriyori Oshiro

* * *

"It can only be you," Rin declared.

* * *

"It's you, isn't it, Isamu?" Rin asked.

"Wait. Just because I have glasses means that I'm the killer?! That's bullshit!" Isamu shouted.

"Then, can you give some other reason why there was glass under her hand?" Miyuki asked.

"O-of course I can!" Isamu said, still shouting.

"Fine, then. Prove it," Sigma said bluntly.

* * *

Non-stop Debate

Ammunition:

Kagomi's Plan

Kagomi's Room Key

Box of Knives

"It could have come from the cabinet!" Isamu said angrily.

"No. We already disproved that," Noriyori interjected.

"Well, what about when she was tied up in the closet?" Shori suggested.

"No! She had it with her!" Isamu said furiously.

"Probably when she was **hiding the Monokuma bust behind the cabinet**!" Isamu shouted.

"No! You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

Ammunition used: Kagomi's Plan

* * *

"Hold on a second, Isamu. How do you know the bust was hidden behind the cabinet?" Rin asked.

"W-what do you mean? It's right there in her plan" Isamu said shakily.

"No. You're wrong Isamu. Nowhere in her plan does it mention the bust."

"Wh-what? You've gotta be kidding me," Isamu stuttered. "There's still no way that I'm the killer!" Isamu continued.

(He's about to lose control. If I can get him to slip up, I've got him) Rin thought.

* * *

Panic Talk Action

[+] [+] [+] ISAMU [+] [+] [+]

== Shield x6! [6 Remaining]

[+] [+] [+] **Where do you think you're aiming?** [+] [+] (([+]))

== Shield Break! [5 Remaining]

(([+])) [+] [+] You're way off mark! [+] [+] [=/=]

== Shield Break! [4 Remaining]

**TEMPO UP!**

[=/=] [+] [+] **Stop trying to accuse me!** [+] (([+])) [=/=]

== Shield Break! [3 Remaining]

[=/=] (([+])) [+]** You're jealous because I'm better than you!** [+] [=/=] [=/=]

== Shield Break [2 Remaining]

[=/=] [=/=] [+] **You still don't have concrete proof!** (([+])) [=/=] [=/=]

== Shield Break! [1 Remaining]

[=/=] [=/=] (([+]))** Trying to blame me is pointless!** [=/=] [=/=] [=/=]

== Shield Break [0 Remaining]

[=/=] [=/=] [=/=] **((To bad for you! I still have my glasses so those can't be mine!))** [=/=] [=/=] [=/=]

* * *

Different! Pair! Of! Glasses!

"Let's end this!" Rin shouted!

* * *

"You're telling me that that's the only pair you have?" Rin asked.

"Wh-what? But… Uh…" Isamu stuttered.

"So, if you broke them, you would have none," Rin continued.

"Nope. I would replace them," Monokuma piped up. "I can't have a half-blind person walking," he laughed.

"That's just cruel," Mamoru said, lowering his head.

Isamu was completely quiet.

"Come on, man. Say something, will ya?" Ryou said hesitantly.

"If he's not going to talk, then I will go over this case from the start and tell you how he did it," Rin said, sighing.

* * *

Climax Return!

:==:l Chapter 1 l:==:

Yesterday, around 3:00 PM, Kagomi hid in the art room, spying on Tsubasa. When she left, she was spotted by the culprit and they thought the worst. They then thought of a plan to prevent Kagomi from killing Tsubasa.

:==:l Chapter 2 l:==:

When Kagomi woke up this morning, she was kidnaped and tied up in the hall closet by the culprit. That's when the culprit went to the art room to change everything back to normal. But, unknown to the killer, Kagomi broke free from her bonds with a knife and went after him and she dropped her room key in the closet.

:==:l Chapter 3 l:==:

While the killer was in the art room, they went behind the cabinet to recover the Monokuma bust. At that point, Kagomi ran into the room, but could not find her kidnapper and, seeing the knife, the killer acted first, striking her from behind,

During this, the killer lost his glasses and, with the last bit of life, Kagomi hid them under her hand. Not noticing this, the killer grabbed the bust and the knife and then tipped the cabinet over to disguise the way that she died.

:==:l Chapter 3 l:==:

After the loud crash, Annashia came rushing over right after the killer left. But, by then, the killer had escaped, running to his room and stashing everything that he had there.

Noticing now that he had lost his glasses, he started to panic, but when Monokuma appeared and offered another pair, he thought that he was safe. Little did the culprit know that the glass under Kagomi's hand was his glasses.

* * *

"That's how it happened, right, Isamu?!" Rin declared.

* * *

"So, have you bastards decided who's guilty, yet?" Monokuma asked.

"Yes. We have," Sigma declared.

"Alright, then. Pull out your student ID's and vote on who you think it is. Will you be right or oh so wrong?" Monokuma said, doing a small twirl.

Rin looked at his ID and saw small pixelated head portraits of everyone. While everyone's was colored, Kagomi's was faded gray.

Rin slowly lowered his finger, pressing Isamu's head and it greyed out.

Suddenly, a large TV screen came down from the ceiling, showing a gigantic slot machine and the slots started to spin and as it stopped on Isamu's portrait. A large amount of confetti spewed from behind it as the machine flashed 'Jackpot'.

* * *

"Man. What a trial, full of betrayal and heartbreak," Monokuma said, shaking with excitement.

"W-why, man? Why did you kill her?" Ryou said, clenching his fist.

"I never meant to kill her," Isamu said, turning away from him. "I was going to tell everyone after I put everything back in its place," he continued. "The only thing that I was planning on was to protect Tsubasa because I could not stand letting someone die when I knew that it was going to happen," Isamu sighed.

"But, then why didn't you come to me or anyone for that matter?" Ryou said, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Looking back on it now, you might be right, but I didn't want anyone to freak out," Isamu said, turning to face his friend.

"OK, now. Time for the execution," Monokuma declared.

Everyone stood shocked and silent until Isamu broke it.

"E-execution? What do you mean?" he gulped.

"Well, you know the old saying. An eye for an eye. Well, in this case, it's a life for a life," Monokuma laughed.

"No! You can't do that! I won't let you!" Ryou screamed.

"Oh yeah? Well, then, maybe you shouldn't have voted for him, then," Monokuma growled.

Ryou was about object, but then Isamu spoke to him.

"Don't worry, man. I know that this is what I deserve and I don't want to see you sad for me, OK?" Isamu said, holding out his hand for Ryou to shake.

"Don't give me this crap. I want you to stay. Please," Ryou said, pushing the hand away.

"Ryou," Isamu said, giving him a hug.

"Sam," Ryou said through sobs.

"Alrighty, then. Let's give it everything we've got. IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monokuma shouted.

* * *

**GAME OVER**

**ISAMU MAKI HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

**COMMENCING EXECUTION**

* * *

Isamu appeared in a dusty old western city dressed in sheriff gear with two six shooters by his waist and Monokuma was standing about twenty feet away from him in a large sombrero and a poncho with his own gun.

* * *

OLD WESTERN SHOOTOUT

* * *

They slowly moved their hands to their gun and, as a large clock chimed the hour, they both sped off in different directions, firing bullets.

Isamu dived behind a barrel for cover, running out of bullets in his first gun and picked up his second one and started to count to himself.

1

2

3!

Both he and Monokuma popped up from their hiding spots and the sound of a gunshot could be heard throughout the town.

Isamu dropped to the ground, having been shot through his sheriff star and held onto his gun that had a small flag with the word 'Bang' printed on it.

* * *

Everyone stood there, shocked, some out of fear and some out of confusion. But then, Monokuma popped out of nowhere, shouting, "Wow! Was that cool or what?!" Monokuma said with glee.

"W-what the hell was that?" Rin gasped.

"Oh, it's nothing that you need to worry about," Monokuma waved him off. "Alright, now. Everyone, back into the elevator," he continued while the elevator descended.

As they all piled into it, Rin turned around to see a stand rise from an opening in the ground with Isamu's portrait with a large red 'X' painted across it.

* * *

They rode the elevator in silence until they reached the top, and then Hibiki spoke up.

"Hey, Tsubasa. Are you OK?" he asked the painter.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Tsubasa replied.

"Well, Sam died trying to protect you," Ryou said quietly.

"Tch. That moron died for no reason," Tsubasa scoffed.

"What the hell did you just say?!" Ryou said angrily.

"I'm sorry. Was there lint in your ears? I said that I didn't need his help. I could have handled that silly girl myself and he threw his life away for no reason," Tsubasa retorted.

Ryou was about to lunge at him until Shiori held him back.

"I swear, if you ever talk about him that way again, I will kill you!" Ryou shouted.

"Oh, please. If you did that, everyone would know that it was you," he replied, turning and walking away.

After that, no one seemed to feel like talking and everyone walked to their rooms in silence, even before the night time announcement.

As Rin drifted off to sleep, all he could hope was that he would never have to go through a class trial ever again.

* * *

**Alright there you have it, Isamu is the culprit and if your wondering what that whole scene was with Ryou and him well then you should have voted to spend time with one of them so there.**

**Anyways next chapter is free time for both Kagomi and Isamu so they get a bit of backstory. **


	9. Extra Free Time 1

"AHHH!" Isamu woke up screaming in a cold sweat.

Isamu quickly took a look around, finding that he was in some sort of classroom and there only seemed to be one other person in the room with him who seemed to be a young girl.

"Hey… Um… Do you know where we are?" Isamu asked the girl.

"Is that any way to greet someone you just killed?" the girl said, turning around in her seat.

"Holy crap! Kagomi!?" Isamu stuttered, stepping back a bit.

"In the flesh or, well, in this case, soul, I guess," Kagomi said, shrugging a bit.

"D-does this mean I'm in hell?" Isamu asked nervously.

"No. I don't think so. It's more like a place in between," Kagomi replied with a sigh.

"You mean, like purgatory?" Isamu said, scratching his head. "So, um… Are you OK with me being here, Kagomi?" Isamu said, lowering his head.

"Well, it's not like I'm going to ask you to leave, but don't get me wrong. I'm still pissed," she replied with a huff.

"Um… Just one more question. Why did you try to kill Tsubasa of all people?" Isamu asked.

"Oh. Because he's a loner and has no one around him most of the time," Kagomi replied, crossing her arms.

"Well, I guess that makes sense when you put it like that," Isamu said sitting down.

"That, and he's a total A-hole," Kagomi said casually.

"Kagomi. Don't say things like that," Isamu said, a bit flustered.

"Don't take my word for it. Just watch the video," she replied, turning around.

"Video?" Isamu said quietly.

Suddenly, the blackboard at the front of the room flipped around, showing a large TV screen and it flickered to life, showing everyone in the elevator with Tsubasa talking.

After the scene ended, the TV screen turned back to a blackboard and Isamu stood up from his seat.

"My God! What a giant A-hole!" Isamu shouted to no one in particular.

"Whoa! Calm down, man! There's not much we can do about it from here!" Kagomi said, leaning back in her chair.

"So, um… What is there to do in here, anyways?" Isamu said, sitting back down.

"We could talk about our backstories," she suggested.

"OK. How would we go about this?" Isamu asked.

"That's simple. One of us pretends to be Rin and we talk about it," Kagomi replied with a smile.

"I don't know. Seems kinda strange," Isamu replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, come on. It will be fun and you can go first," Kagomi said, scooting closer.

"OK. OK. Fine," Isamu replied in defeat.

* * *

==Free Time==

-Isamu-

:==: Rec Room

Rin walked into the rec. room for no particular reason, maybe just for a change of scenery, and he spotted Isamu holding a pool cue.

"Hey, man. What are you doing here?" Rin asked the marksman.

"Oh. Hey there, Rin," Isamu said, turning to face him. "I'm just here practicing my aim," he continued.

"With billiard balls?" Rin said, a bit confused.

"Well, I doubt that the bear has any spare guns lying around, so this is the next best thing," Isamu said shrugging. "Hey. Want to have quick match with me?" he asked.

"Sure. Why not?" Rin replied.

We played billiards for a while.

"So, that now makes the score 3-1, right?" Isamu asked, holding a piece of paper.

"Yeah, and in your favour," Rin grumbled.

"Hey. Don't beat yourself up. You at least won one, right?" Isamu replied with a smile.

"Um… Isamu… Do you mind if I ask you something?" Rin asked a bit uneasily.

"Sure. You can ask me anything you want," Isamu replied, walking over to a chair and taking a seat.

"Why did you become a marksman? It seems like such a dangerous job," Rin said, taking the seat across from him.

"Oh. That. Well, out of everything I was trained to do, shooting was the thing I was best at," Isamu said, relaxing a bit.

"Wait. Trained to do? What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"Well, you see, I come from a family of soldiers. My father, my grandfather and even my great-grandfather were soldiers, so I knew that, one day, I would become one as well," Isamu replied, crossing his arms.

"Oh. So is everyone happy that you followed in the family legacy?" Rin asked.

"Not as much as you would think," Isamu replied, turning his face away from Rin.

"Uh… Sorry if it's a touchy subject," Rin said, a bit ashamed.

"No. It's fine. It's just that I don't have any siblings, so my parents kinda freaked when I said that I wanted to use guns for the rest of my life," he replied, turning back.

"Jeez. They must be freaking out that you're now here," Rin said, sighing.

"Yeah. About that. I never told them that I was leaving for this school. Hell, they might not even know I'm gone," Isamu said with a small laugh. "Well, at least I met Ryou here. He's able to keep me sane right now," he continued with a smile.

"You're right. Let's just look on the bright side," Rin said, returning the smile.

Rin thought that he got to know Isamu a bit more.

* * *

"Wow, man. That was kinda heavy stuff," Kagomi said, leaning back in her chair.

"Whatever. It's your turn now, thief," Isamu snapped back.

* * *

-Kagomi

:==: Nurses office

As Rin walked by the nurse's office, he noticed Kagomi near the small freezer and decided to check on her.

"Hey, Kagomi. What are you doing?" Rin asked, standing behind her.

"Gah! Jeez! Don't sneak up behind me, will ya?!" Kagomi whipped around angrily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Rin said, stepping back.

"Well, you didn't scare me. You just surprised me. That's all," she replied, pouting a bit.

"OK, but the question still stands. What are you doing here?" Rin asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh. I'm just getting prepared for a prank," Kagomi replied, standing up.

"It has something to do with blood packs?" Rin asked, still a bit suspicious.

"Oh. That's just one of the items, and you can help me?" Kagomi replied, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket.

"I need a jar of honey from the kitchen and a bucket from the hall closet," she continued.

"Do I even want to know what this is for?" Rin said with a sigh.

"Let's just say that Euri is going to have a rude awakening," Kagomi giggled.

"Now, come on. You're going to help me get all these things and more," she said, rushing out the door, grabbing Rin's hand and dragging him along with her.

Rin spent time gathering items with Kagomi for pranks and went back to the nurse's office.

"OK, now. We've got the bucket and the honey, a large amount of empty cardboard boxes and I also got one of Monokuma's martini glasses," Kagomi said, checking things off her list.

"Wait a second! When the Hell did you get one of those?!" Rin asked in surprise.

"Hey. You know that my title is the Ultimate Thief, right? I would never tell you my secrets," she replied with a small smile.

"Well, could you a least tell me why you became a thief, then?" Rin asked, taking a seat on one of the beds.

"Fine. I started when I was young, just stealing to get by and only taking what I really needed," Kagomi said with a sigh, sitting across from Rin. "But, after a while, I found out that I was rather good at it and started to do higher stake jobs," she continued. "So, I kept doing bigger and larger jobs 'til it just got boring," Kagomi said, lying down.

"Boring? How so?" Rin asked.

"Well, if you do something long enough, it starts to lose interest and there's just no part in thieving anymore for me," Kagomi replied. "The life of a thief is supposed to be one on the run and full of excitement, but I was just too good at it and, at points, no one knew that I had stolen things," she continued.

"Well, I can see how it could be boring after a while," Rin said, crossing his arms.

"OK. Enough of this boring stuff. Let's get the pranking underway," Kagomi said, leaping up from her seat.

Rin thought that he understood Kagomi a bit more.

* * *

"Wow. That was eventful," Isamu said, standing up.

"Um… Isamu. Do you mind if I ask you something?" Kagomi asked.

"Sure. Ask away," Isamu replied, not paying much mind.

"Did you have a crush on Ryou?" Kagomi said nonchalantly.

"Whoa! Wait! Why the hell would you ask that?!" Isamu said, flustered.

"Well, the end of the trial got kinda heavy and I thought there was a bit of boy's love there," Kagomi replied with a giggle.

"Wait. You saw the whole trial?" Isamu asked, trying to avoid the previous question.

"Well, the bear wasn't lying about that. We get to see everything when a murder starts 'til the very end," Kagomi replied. "But, you still need to answer my question," she said, pointing a finger at Isamu.

"Um… Uh… You're too young to understand things like bromances," Isamu replied, trying not to make eye contact.

"I'm the same age as you moron," Kagomi said with frown.

* * *

**A/N Ok first let me say I'm so sorry about how long it took but I have been dealing with a lot of family matters and I haven't even started to work on my second story so thats going to take a bit longer as well.**

**So just so everyone is clear this is the only free time these 2 will get I might change this but for right now this is it.**

**And finally next is the poll for the room Rin will explore and it will also show what the motive was. **


	10. Explore 2

**A/N: Well, because of the votes—or lack thereof—Rin and the gang are headed off to the laboratory.**

Rin sat up from his bed, not having had the best sleep, the class trial and execution still fresh in his mind.

As Rin walked to his door, he saw a note next to the door and decided to pick it up.

"Come to the cafeteria to hear about your rewards for completing the first of—I hope—many class trials."

Rin clenched the note in his fist, cursing the bear under his breath, and he flung open the door and was greeted with the site of Hibiki opening his own door.

"Good morning, Rin. Did you get the note from Monokuma?" Hibiki asked Rin, holding up his own note.

"Yeah. I did. Wanna walk to the cafeteria together?" Rin suggested to Hibiki.

"Sure. That sounds fine," Hibiki replied.

:==: Cafeteria

As Rin and Hibiki walked in, they saw everyone gathered around the usual table, but with Monokuma at the head.

"Oh. Looks like the final two have arrived," Monokuma said, turning everyone's attention to them.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, bear. Can you just get to the point as to why you called us all here?" Rin snapped at the bear, taking his seat.

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about that," he replied with a smirk.

"Well, first off, let me congratulate you all for surviving the first class trial. You would not believe how many don't get as far as you guys," Monokuma continued. "But, cutting to the point of the matter, for your reward, I have unlocked a new floor that everyone can explore, as well as the room that you all heard the noise from," Monokuma smiled.

Everyone was silent for a moment, trying to grasp what had just been said, but Sigma finally spoke up.

"Are you talking about the motive that you gave us?" she asked.

"Bingo. Right on the money. You get to have a new floor all to yourselves and all you had to do was kill off two of your fellow classmates," the bear replied. "I mean, out of all of them, I'm glad that they died first. Waste of space, if you ask me," he continued.

"Shut up," Ryou said under his breath.

"Oh. What was that?" Monokuma said, holding a paw up to his ear.

"I said shut the hell up!" Ryou said, about to lunge at the bear.

"Ryou, stop this right now!" Fuyu snapped at him.

As he turned to face the tamer, Monokuma jumped off the table and ran out the door.

"Alright. Let's explore this new floor," Sigma said, standing up and walking towards the door.

:==: 2nd Floor

"So, do you guys really think that the exit is up here?" Fuyu asked.

"God, I hope so, because I need a real shower. Mine is crapping out," Euri huffed.

"I hear the noise and it's coming from that room," Mamoru interjected, pointing to a large door.

"Really? I don't hear anything," Lin said.

"Well, might as well check it out," Sigma said, swinging open the door.

:==: Laboratory

When the group entered the room, the first thing they saw was a large machine that looked like a large tesla coil but with tubes and wires sticking out of it. Besides that, there were large metal tables with loose machine parts and tools scattered across them.

"Jeez! What the hell is that thing?!" Tsubasa said stepping back to look up at the machine.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's the thing making the noise," Mamoru said, crossing his arms.

Rin's heart sank. There was no exit. It was just some stupid machine and he felt like he was going to cry.

"W-wait. Your telling me that this thing is the exit?" Fuyu said on the verge of tears.

At that moment, Monokuma waddled in, looking sickeningly happy with himself.

"I'm surprised that you guys could hear this thing," he said, looking up at the group.

"What the hell is this, bear?! This is no freaking exit!" Shiro said, taking a menacing step towards Monokuma.

"Slow your roll, Ms Talks-with-her-fists. I never said there was an exit. I just said that there 'might' be one. Never thought anyone would kill for it," the bear replied to the boxer.

"So, you're saying that they died for nothing," Ryou deadpanned.

"No. Of course not. They died, not only to get you higher in the building, but also to show you that there is no escape that is unless you kill someone," Monokuma replied, emphasizing the last bit.

With that, the bear left the stunned teenagers to wallow in their thoughts.

(No. There has to be a way out. There just has to be) Rin thought to himself.

Everyone just stood there in silence, not wanting to accept what Monokuma had told them, but then Hibiki spoke up.

"I think that we should at least explore this floor before giving up hope," he said, trying to gather everyone's attention.

"You're right. We shouldn't believe everything that bear tells us," Makko chimed in.

"OK. Let's split up and search this floor like the last one," Sigma said, regaining her composure.

"You idiots can do whatever you want. I'm heading back down to the art room," Tsubasa said, walking out of the room.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I don't really feel like exploring, either," Ryou said, walking out of the room as well.

As everyone split off again, Rin was left with Miyuki who was staring at the large machine.

"Hey. You still with us Miyuki?" Rin said, walking over to the librarian.

"Oh. Did everyone leave while I was spacing out again?" she replied, turning to face Rin.

"Yeah, and it looks like it's just us again," Rin said, looking around for someone else, finding no one.

'"Do you mind if we look around here for a bit? I want to take a closer look at these machines," Miyuki asked, paying no mind to what Rin had said.

"Uh… Sure. Why not?" Rin replied half-heartedly.

Miyuki ran off in some random direction, leaving Rin alone with his thoughts.

(Our friends died for nothing! All they wanted to do was escape this hell like the rest of us!)

"Hey, Rin. Come over here for a second. I think I've found something interesting," Miyuki called to Rin, snapping him from his thoughts.

As Rin walked over, he noticed that Miyuki was hold what looked like a newspaper clipping.

"Hey, Miyuki. What have you got there?" Rin asked.

"It seems like an old piece of newspaper. Plus, look at the headline," Miyuki replied, pointing to the top of the paper.

As Rin took it from Miyuki, he gave it a quick once over, but had to do a double take when he read the headline.

'School building burned down! Twenty-five killed in this horrific event and our hearts go out to families who have lost their loved ones in this tragic event. While the cause of the fire is still unknown, authorities believe that the fire originated in the school's chemistry lab due to the combination of certain chemicals. The perpetrator of this crime has yet to be apprehended and the police are still investigating.'

When Rin finished, he handed the piece of paper back to Miyuki.

"God. That's horrible. Who would do something that horrific?" Rin said, shuddering with disgust.

"True, but what I really want know is why this is here of all places," Miyuki replied, closing her eyes in thought.

Suddenly, Monokuma appeared from behind a machine and quickly snatched the article out of her hand.

"Wha-?! Hey! Give it back!" Rin shouted, a bit surprised by the bear's sudden appearance.

"Sorry. Can't and won't. Besides, if I gave anymore information, you all might finally figure why you're here," Monokuma replied.

With that, he ran out of the room leaving Rin and Miyuki alone again.

"I wonder what the hell that was all about," Rin asked, not really looking for an answer.

"Let's think about it later. It's about time that we get back the cafeteria," Miyuki replied, walking to the door.

:==: Cafeteria

As Rin walked in, he noticed that not everyone was there. Most noticeably, Sigma was absent.

"Hey. Where is Sigma and everyone else?" Rin asked Hibiki, walking up to him.

"Oh. Hey Rin and Miyuki. Sorry. I don't know much about the others, but Sigma said that she was retiring to her room early," Hibiki replied, turning to face the two.

"That's strange. Normally, she wants reports on what we find, and I think we did find something," Rin said while scratching his head.

"Oh. Something interesting, I hope," Hibiki said, looking at Rin hopefully.

Rin gave a quick glance at Miyuki, wondering if they should share what they found.

After a quick shrug which Rin hoped was the OK, Miyuki turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"So… Uh… We found this old newspaper clipping about a school fire in the laboratory that we were all in," Rin said, turning back to face Hibiki.

"Well, that's strange, but I don't know why Sigma would be interested in something like that," Hibiki frowned.

"The thing is that, after we read it, Monokuma snatched it from us, saying that it might give away the reason why we're here," Rin replied, crossing his arms.

"Oh, and because Sigma is the Ultimate Tactician, you wanted to know why he would do that?" Hibiki asked.

"Yeah, but the strange thing is that I don't remember a school fire or anything like that where I live. How about you?" Rin replied.

"None that I can think of, but maybe someone else knows about it," Hibiki said, about to call someone over, but not before Rin stopped him.

"I don't want to tell everyone yet because we've just lost two friends and found out that there was no way out on the second floor, so putting a school fire on top of that might not be the wisest choice," Rin said, letting go of Hibiki.

"Oh. I see why you might be right," Hibiki replied, looking a bit downtrodden.

"It's fine. No need to worry about it," Rin said with a small smile.

Hibiki was about to say something, but the monitor in the room suddenly turned on.

"It's now 10:00 PM. The cafeteria and other rooms will be closing soon and night time will be in effect." With that, the monitor turned off.

"Well, I think that it's time to retire," Hibiki said, walking towards the door.

One after another, everyone left the cafeteria and went back to their rooms.

"Well, goodnight, Rin," Hibiki said with a smile and a wave before closing the door.

While Rin drifted off to sleep, all he could think about was the piece of newspaper that they found and how could it tell them why they were in this horrible place.

* * *

**Hi there everyone. I know it's been sometime since I uploaded the last chapter but my life has been like a roller-coaster and things have run me through the cleaner but I think I have recovered and now ready to write again, so the poll for the next free time will be up on my profile and the rules are the same "You can pick 2 but if you have 2 characters in the story only pick one and give someone else a chance". But thats about it and I do hope you enjoy this **


	11. Free time 3

**A/N: So the two people for this free time are Hibiki and Euri and, as a writer, I have to ask 'Why Euri?' I mean, you have 8 others who haven't had a chance, but I digress.**

* * *

Rin awoke from his deep sleep, realizing that it was the first decent one that he had had since he came to this wretched place. Maybe things might turn out OK after all.

As he walked to his door, he could hear arguing from the other side and, when he opened it, he saw Hibiki trying to keep Ryou off of Tsubasa.

"I told you that if you talked shit about Sam again, I would kill you!" Ryou shouted.

"Ha! Like you have the guts to do something like that," Tsubasa scoffed.

"Tsubasa, cool it, will you? Are you trying to get killed?" Hibiki said, still trying his best to hold Ryou off.

By now, a few others had come out of their rooms due to the noise that Ryou was making.

"Oh, look. Witnesses. Are you going to kill them, as well?" Tsubasa smirked.

Ryou looked like he was about to break free but, suddenly, Annashia walked up behind the painter, tapping him on the shoulder, and when he turned around, she raised her hand and smacked him right across the face.

"Ow! What the hell, you bitch?!" Tsubasa yelled, holding his hand across the new red mark.

"Normally, I detest violence, but you are insufferable and need to be taught a lesson," Annashia replied, putting hands on her hips.

Everyone was stunned, not fully comprehending what had just happened until Shiro let out a low whistle.

"I… Wh… I will get you back for this! I swear!" Tsubasa scowled and stormed off.

Afterwards, when Ryou was set free from Hibiki's grasp, he walked up to Annashia with a big smile on his face.

"Wow. You sure taught that asshole a lesson. He won -" Ryou was mid-sentence when Annashia smacked him on the head.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Ryou asked, a bit confused.

"You need to cool it. All this talk about killing someone is not good for the group," she replied, pointing a finger in Ryou's face.

"But he deserves it!" Ryou stated angrily.

"No one deserves to die! Not him, not you, not anyone!" Annashia shouted, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Ryou stood there as Annashia desperately tried to hold back her tears.

"Y-you're right. The way I've been acting is pretty mean and I'm sorry for that," Ryou finally spoke, turning back to his room. "It's just that I need to be by myself right now," he continued, walking in and closing the door behind him without another word.

Everyone stood there in silence, not really knowing what to say until Noriyori walked up to Annashia, lightly grabbing her hand.

"Wait. W- OW! Hey! That hurts!" Annashia winced, even though Noriyori barely touched her.

"Just as I thought. You injured your hand when you hit those two knuckleheads," Noriyori sighed.

"Come on. Let's get you to the nurse's office," he continued, slowly walking in the direction of the nurse's office, holding Annashia's other hand.

As the two walked off, Rin could only hope that this was the end of the fighting for now.

==Freetime==

-Hibiki-

:==: Cafeteria

When Rin walked into, the room he was immediately overwhelmed by how hungry he was and quickly made his way into the kitchen. There, he saw Hibiki staring into a plate.

"Hey there, Hibiki. Something wrong with the plate?" Rin asked, walking up to the hairdresser.

"Oh. Hey there, Rin. No, the plate is fine. I was just was lost in thought," Hibiki replied, placing the plate in the sink.

Rin quickly saw the large stack of dishes behind Hibiki who grabbed the one from the top of the stack, plunging it into the sink full of water

"Are you here all alone?" Rin asked, looking around for someone else.

"Yep. It's just me slaving away," Hibiki said with a small chuckle.

"Well, then, let me help you," Rin said, grabbing the clean dishes and walking to the cabinet

"Thanks. That would be great," Hibiki said with a smile.

They spent time cleaning dishes.

"Whew. We got that done a lot faster with your help. Thanks, Rin," Hibiki said, finding a chair to sit in.

"Hey, no problem. I'm glad that I could help," Rin replied, finding his own seat.

"By the way, I wanted to ask you about this morning. Do you mind?" Rin asked, turning his chair to face Hibiki.

"Oh. You mean the fight. What about it?" Hibiki replied.

"Well, it seemed like you were trying protect Tsubasa, and not just by holding Ryou back," Rin asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"Oh, that. Well, it's just that Tsubasa reminds me of my older brother from back home," Hibiki replied with a small sigh.

"You have a brother?" Rin asked, getting more interested by the word.

"Yeah. A twin, in fact, but he's about one minute ahead of me, birth-wise," Hibiki replied, looking as if he was remembering a fond memory.

"He would always pick fights with others for the hell of it and, most of the time, I had to bail him out of a sticky situation," he continued.

"Wow, so he must really like you," Rin said with a smile.

"Well, not as much as you would think. He mostly told me that I was getting in his way or was just a pest, but no matter how much he pushed me away, I always came back to him," Hibiki said, leaning back in his chair with a large sigh.

"Jeez. Sorry if I brought up something uncomfortable," Rin said, scratching the back of his head, a bit ashamed.

"No need to apologize. Despite the way that he acted, I could tell that he cared for me in his own way," Hibiki replied, standing up.

"Well, I'm glad that we were able to talk about something nice," Rin replied as he followed suit.

"I'm going to see who else is around, OK? But, it was nice talking to you, Hibiki," Rin said, smiling.

"Same. I haven't talked about my brother with someone in a while," Hibiki replied with his own smile.

_'I think that Hibiki and I bonded a little.'_

:==: 2nd Floor

As Rin ascended the stairs, he could hear someone yelling from the room that held the dojo.

"YAAAAAAA!"

Rin quickly ran into the dojo, prepared for the worst.

:==: Dojo

When Rin entered the room, the first thing he saw was Euri and Shiori standing apart from each other and, while Euri was in a fighting stance and was sweating, Shiori had her arms crossed with a content look on her face.

"What's wrong?! Is everyone alright?!" Rin gasped.

"Oh. Hey there, Rin," Shiori said, waving at the reporter.

At that moment, Euri leapt towards Shiori, her hand in a chopping formation, but the boxer quickly stepped to one side, avoiding the attack, grabbing her hand and then pinning her to the ground.

"You done yet?" Shiori asked the now-pinned Euri with sigh.

"Fine. OK. You win this round," Euri grunted, patting her free hand on the floor.

"OK, then. We will resume training tomorrow," Shiro said, getting off the ground and walking towards the door.

After Shiro left, Rin took a quick look around, realizing that this was his first time in the dojo.

The room was rather large, but it was longer than it was wide depending on the way that one looked at it. The floor was made of wooded floorboards, but half of it was covered in training mats, and on the far side, were three archery targets with a large box beside one of them which Rin assumed held bows and arrows. Near where Euri was standing, there were sword racks lined with kendō swords and practice wooden swords.

Euri stood up and walked to a bench with a towel, wiped the sweat from her brow and turned towards Rin, giving him a glare.

"Why the hell are you still here?" Euri asked, still glaring.

"Oh. I'm sorry if I bothered you," Rin replied, turning towards the door.

"Wait. I didn't mean that you had to leave. Besides, I need you to help me with something," Euri said, sighing.

"OK, then. What do you need?" Rin said, turning back with a coy smile on his face.

"Well, I can't clean this place up by myself, so do you think that you can help me out here?" Euri asked, already grabbing the first mat.

"Sure. Why not?" Rin replied as he followed suit.

They cleaned the dojo together.

"Jeez. Those mats are heavier than they look," Rin said, taking a long breath.

"Oh, quit your moaning, will ya?" Euri sighed, finding a seat.

"Oh, by the way, I wanted to talk to you about something," Rin stated, finding a seat near the girl.

"Fine. Ask away," Euri replied, grabbing a bottle of water from a gym bag.

"Well, it's about your old debate team," Rin said, stopping Euri mid-sip.

Euri took a moment with a look on her face that was reminiscent of a person who had just bitten into something sour, but she finally spoke up. "Yeah. What about them?"

"Well, I wanted to know why you never got along with them," Rin stated, a bit unsure as to whether he picked the right question.

"They didn't take to my friendly nature too well," Euri replied with a small chuckle.

"I can't believe that it was just that," Rin said with a frown.

"Well, if you must know, I was a 'spotlight hog' as they so eloquently put it," Euri said, her eyes growing misty as she became lost in thought.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I don't get why they would hate you for that," Rin told her, still puzzled.

"Well, before I came along, everyone worked together to win and have fun, but when I showed up, I worked alone and just thought about winning," Euri sighed. "Mind you, I never needed them to begin with, but the rules mandated that you have a 'team' with you," she continued.

"So, did you have any friends in the team?" Rin asked, a bit worried.

"I've never needed any and I still don't," Euri replied, frowning. "Well, I think that that's enough gushy stuff for now," Euri said, standing up and grabbing her bag.

"Hey, wait. I still wanted to ask you a few things," Rin said, abruptly standing up.

"To bad, I'm going back to my room. Later," Euri said, giving one last wave of her hand before she headed out the door.

_'I think that I'm understanding her more and more.'_

* * *

:==: Cafeteria

Rin entered the room, tired from the day, just wanting to eat and go to bed, but he spotted a large group around a table discussing something.

As Rin walked over, he spotted Hibiki talking with Annashia along with Fuyu and Makko.

"Um… Hey, guys. What are you talking about?" Rin asked, catching the group's attention.

"Oh. Were just planning a group activity," Fuyu said with a smile.

"Yeah. We thought that we could make a large lunch and have a pool party," Annashia continued.

"So, do you think that you can join?" Hibiki asked.

"Oh, sure. Besides, it sounds like fun," Rin replied.

"OK, then. You're in charge of getting Ryou and Tsubasa to the pool," Fuyu said with a small laugh.

"Wait! Why do I have to do that?!" Rin protested.

"Because you asked what you could do to help," Makko stated.

"Ugh. Fine. I will try to the best of my ability to get them there," Rin sighed.

"OK, then. We will all meet at the pool at around 3 PM," Hibiki suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Annashia smiled.

Rin quickly grabbed some food and, while he walked to his room, he encountered Ryou standing outside a door.

"Hey, Ryou. Is everything OK?" Rin asked, walking up to the knife thrower.

"Hi, Rin. I'm fine, but I'm sorry about the way that I acted this morning and I hope that you can forgive me," Ryou replied, turning to face Rin.

"Oh, sure. I can understand why you were angry at Tsubasa. He pushes everyone's buttons," Rin said, scratching the back of his head.

"By the way, everyone is going to a party at the pool, so I was wondering if you wanted to come," Rin stated with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"You know what? That sounds kinda fun," Ryou replied with a small smile.

"See you there, then?" Rin asked.

"Sure, why not? But, right now, I'm tired, so I'm off to bed," Ryou said, waving, then walking off.

Rin was about to leave, but he then noticed that the door that Ryou was standing in front of was Isamu's and it had a small note attached to the nameplate.

_'I'm sorry for accusing you.'_

Rin walked to his room, wondering if he would ever be able to have a normal life after this.

* * *

Ok first off let me say I'm sorry it took so long to get this out and I will try to get a lot done in the next weak or so, that being said some of you have suggested that I put in a team event so everyone has a chance to speak and I think they're right, the reason I did not put in the first part was because I wanted to get a good feel and it's hard to write 18 teens who all need to speak.

So next up is the pool party which I hope will be fun but I will also put up the poll for free time No.4 and like last time the 2 who spoke this chapter can't be picked.

One last thing, I would love it if you PM me or write a review on this so not only do I know whos reading but what everyone thinks, now I accept criticism as long as it's constructive and not just _'OMG you suck, why are you even writing, just stop it's giving me eye cancer'_ or other things along that line.


	12. Party event 1

**A/N: So, I just figured that I haven't given a room layout, so I thought that I would do that now.**

**Annashia Lin Hibiki Ryou Mamoru Noriyori Makko Isamu**

**l**

**Miyuki Euri Rin Shiori Tsubasa Sigma Fuyu Kagomi**

* * *

"Good morning, everyone! It's now 7 AM and time to wake up," the monitor blared before quickly turning off.

Rin shook himself awake and headed to the hall, intending to meet Hibiki to plan today's event.

As Rin opened the door, he noticed something odd. A piece of paper was attached to a door across from him. Taking it off the door, he quickly read it.

_'You are invited to a party at the pool around 3 PM. We will be providing a large group lunch with homemade sandwiches. We hope to see you there. Sincerely, Fuyu, Hibiki, Makko, Rin and Annashia.'_

Rin suddenly remembered what the others tasked him with and quickly rushed over to Tsubasa's door, giving it a few knocks. Not getting an answer the first time, Rin gave a few more when, suddenly, Tsubasa threw the door open with an extremely pissed off expression on his face.

"What the hell do you want?!" Tsubasa barked angrily.

"Oh. First off, good morning, and second, I was wondering if you were willing to come to the party at the pool this afternoon," Rin replied, wishing that he'd never agreed to this job.

"Is that why you had to wake me with your insensitive knocking?" Tsubasa asked, still a bit annoyed.

"I just wanted to ask so we know how much food to make," Rin said with a weary smile.

"No," Tsubasa said, about to close the door.

"Oh, come on. At least look at this flyer," Rin said, quickly grabbing the piece of paper from the door and handing it to the painter.

Tsubasa to one look at the note before crumpling it up in a ball and throwing back into his room.

"The answer is still no," Tsubasa grumbled, still trying to close the door.

"Look. It's going to be a lot of fun. Plus, you… Uh... You will see girls in bikinis," Rin said desperately, grabbing at straws to get Tsubasa to come as well as holding the door open.

"Look. For the last time, I'm not going to your damn play date!" Tsubasa shouted, finally slamming the door shut.

"Jeez. Does he wake up on the wrong side of the bed every day?" Rin grumbled, making his way to the cafeteria.

**:==: Cafeteria**

As Rin entered, he was met with the smell of freshly cooked chicken and fish. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw the strange sight of both Makko and Annashia wearing aprons with Monokuma designs on the front.

"Wow. What smells so good?" Rin asked, waving at the two.

"Good to see you, Rin. Annashia and I are in charge of making the sandwiches," Makko replied, turning to face the reporter.

"OK, then. What's on the menu for today, then?" Rin asked with great anticipation.

"Well, let's see. We;ve got chicken and fish sandwiches with fresh fruit juice," Annashia said, taking a quick look around.

"Is that it?" Rin asked, a bit disappointed.

"Well, this whole thing was kinda on a whim, so I'm kinda surprised we even came up with this much," Annashia replied, turning back to cutting chicken.

"Anyways, what about your task Rin? How did that go?" Makko sighed.

"Well, I got Ryou to agree, but Tsubasa was… well...Tsubasa, to put it mildly," Rin replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, don't sweat it. One out of two ain't bad," Makko said with a small chuckle.

"By the way, I think that you should head over to the pool and see if the two over there need some help, OK?" Makko continued.

"OK, then. I'm off. See you guys at the party," Rin said, walking towards the doors.

**:==: 2nd floor :==: Male changing room**

As Rin entered the room, the first thing that he noticed was the alarming amount of lockers. He counted about twenty-five each, one with a strange device in place of a handle and, when Rin tried to open one, it wouldn't budge an inch.

"Jeez. What the hell is with this thing?" Rin said out loud.

"Oh. I can answer that for you, Rin," Monokuma cackled, popping out from behind a set of lockers.

"Why the hell did you pop up?" Rin said, turning to face the bear with a glare.

"Well, you asked for some help and it's my job as headmaster to help in any way that I can," Monokuma replied, looking a bit sullen.

"Fine, then. Just tell me how to open one of these things," Rin asked, pointing at a locker.

"Well, OK, then. First, give me your student ID," Monokuma said with a complete turn in his personality.

As Rin fished out his ID from his pocket, he spied a slip of paper sticking out from one of the lockers

"Hey. Could you open that one for me?" Rin asked, pointing at the locker.

"Sure. Why the hell not?" Monokuma shrugged, walking over and then hopping up on a bench to reach the device.

"So, the way that you open one of these things is that you just wave your ID in front of a scanner," Monokuma said, swiping Rin's ID across the device which made a small beep and the sound of bolts sliding sounded. "Then, you just open it." Monokuma continued to tug on the latch and the door opened. The small piece of paper fell and Rin quickly snatched it out of the air.

As Rin opened his hand, he noticed that it was a picture of two girls holding out their hands, making 'v's' with their fingers. One had bright red hair and glasses and the other had brown hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Hey. Who are these two?" Rin asked, showing Monokuma the picture.

"Oh. Those two. Let me think… AH! Glasses was the Ultimate Doll Maker and ponytail was the Ultimate Archaeologist. I think that they were good friends 'til it all went south," Monokuma sighed.

"What do you mean by 'went south'?" Rin asked hesitantly.

"Well, ponytail strangled glasses with a rope while they cleaned dishes one night. Some friend she turned out to be," Monokuma said with a creepy smile.

"But, don't worry. She was found out in the end and, man, was her execution fun. We had a pyramid and a sarcophagus and everything," Monokuma laughed.

"D-do you even remember their names?" Rin asked, looking down at his feet.

"Why would I remember the names of failures?" Monokuma said, handing Rin's ID back, then turning and walking towards and out the door.

All Rin could do was stand there, Monokuma's words running through his head—_'friends betraying one another'_—until he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Rin. Are you OK? It looks like you just got punched in the gut," Hibiki said, snapping Rin out of his trance.

"Wh-what? Oh. Hey, Hibiki. Sorry. I was just spacing out there for a bit," Rin replied closing the locker and stuffing the picture in his pocket.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, Shiori and I could use a bit of help with setting up," Hibiki said with a warm smile.

**:==: Pool**

"Hey, Fuyu. Rin came to help us set up," Hibiki called to the tamer.

"Good, because these tables are heavier than they look," Fuyu shouted back.

"OK, then. You grab one side and I will get the other," Hibiki said, pointing at a table.

As Rin helped to prepare for the party, the only that thing on his mind was what Monokuma had said. _'Failures are forgotten.'_

"Rin! Hey, Rin!" Hibiki shouted, trying to get the reporter's attention.

"Oh. Uh. What?" Rin stammered, still a bit lost in thought.

"Everyone else is coming in, so look alive, will ya?" Hibiki replied, smiling.

When Rin looked around, he saw that just about everyone there from Euri in a one piece to Makko in a pair of trunks.

"Hey, man. The party looks great so far," Makko said, walking over.

"Yeah, but I don't see Sigma or Tsubasa anywhere," Hibiki sighed.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention that Sigma said that she isn't one for large crowds," Makko replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Tsubasa was being Tsubasa, as well," Rin frowned.

"Well, OK, then. Rin, you and I should get changed," Hibiki said, grabbing his arm and walking towards the changing rooms.

As Rin and Hibiki entered, they saw Mamoru and Noriyori talking to each other.

"Hey. Is everything alright?" Hibiki called over at the two.

"Oh. We're fine. We're just kinda shy around water," Noriyori said, walking up to them.

"Well, I can understand Mamoru not liking it, but why you?" Rin asked, a bit curious.

"It's because of my po-" Noriyori was in the middle of saying something until Mamoru spoke up.

"He can't swim," he said bluntly.

"Jeez, Mamoru. I told you that in confidence. I thought that you would keep it a secret," Noriyori said, coughing and turning to face the mathematician.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Besides, it would have come out when you walked out there," Mamoru replied, shrugging.

Noriyori sighed and was about to walk back to the hallway until Hibiki put a hand on his shoulder.

"You know, if you want, I could help you a bit. I know that I'm not the best swimmer, but it's better than nothing, right?" Hibiki said with a reassuring smile.

"Th-that would be really nice," Noriyori said, returning the smile.

"Well, just let me change and I will meet you out there, OK?" Hibiki said, walking further in.

As Noriyori walked out of the room, Rin was about to change until he noticed that Mamoru was still there.

"Um… I need to change. Do you mind giving me privacy?" Rin asked, a bit nervous.

"I wouldn't see anything, but I could close my eyes if it would make you feel better," Mamoru said with a small smile.

"Fine. Whatever," Rin sighed, quickly changing and running back outside.

Rin scanned the area, seeing smiling faces all around from Lin and Ryou eating sandwiches to Fuyu and Miyuki splashing about in the pool.

"Hey. Put me down, you big lummox!" Euri, who was in the arms of Shiori, shouted.

"Nu-uh. This is a pool party which means that you gotta get wet," Shiori said with a smile, edging closer to the pool.

"Don't you freaking dare," Euri said venom.

"On three, OK?" Shiroi said, disregarding the activist's comment.

"I swear, if you dunk me in that poo-! AHHHHH!" Euri was interrupted by Shiroi running and then jumping into the pool.

Everyone quickly gathered around the pool edge to see when the two came up and, as Euri came up for air, they could all see the very pissed off look on her face.

"What the hell?! I thought that you said 'on three'!" Euri sputtered, still gasping for air.

"Oh, please. If I went in then, I wouldn't have had that kinda reaction," Shiori said, rising to the surface with a smile.

Everyone started to laugh until Euri turned to the boxer, giving him a look that could kill.

"I'm so going to get you for this!" Euri yelled, swimming full force at Shiori.

"Well, then, you'll have to catch me first," Shiori replied, taking off, herself.

A while later, everyone decided to head back to the cafeteria for dinner.

**:==: Cafeteria**

As Rin and the others walked in, they were surprised to see Sigma and Tsubasa there with Monokuma who was standing atop a table, a large feast spread in front of him.

"Oh. It looks like the kiddies are done playing," Tsubasa said, turning to face the group.

"Whoa. What's all this?" Annashia gasped, a bit confused.

"Well, since everyone was having such a good time at the pool, I decided to help and made this very special dinner for everyone," Monokuma replied with a smile.

"What's the catch, bear?" Ryou said, concerned.

"Can't a headmaster treat his students with love and not get questioned like he's a criminal?" Monokuma sighed, downtrodden.

"Well, you aren't the nicest, you know?" Miyuki said bluntly.

"Oh, come on, guys. It looks fine to me," Shiori said, walking up to the food.

"Don't eat anything. It might be poisoned," Sigma said, holding up her hand.

But, before she could stop her, Shiori had picked up a chicken leg and bit into it, but as she swallowed, she dropped to her knees.

"Shiori! Everyone! Stand back!" Noriyori said with a cough, rushing to the boxer's side.

"Are you OK? Are you hurting anywhere?" he continued, holding her wrist, checking for a pulse.

Slowly, Shiori stood up and started to cry.

"This is the best food that I've ever had!" Shiori exclaimed, rushing back to the table for more.

"Well, no immediate change in health," Lin said, walking up the food, herself.

"Fine, then. Let's eat," Rin sighed.

Everyone quickly grabbed a plate of food and sat down around a large table.

"Wow. This is actually really good," Makko said through a mouthful of food.

"Jeez. Were you raised in a barn or something?" Tsubasa said sarcastically.

"Oh, just lay off everyone for today, will ya?" Mamoru said, pointing a fork in his direction.

"You know, I really had fun today, so thanks for inviting me," Ryou said with a large smile.

Soon, everyone had finished their meals and cleaned up, but as the group made their way back to their rooms, Rin decided to make a quick stop in the large room where everyone had met up for the first time.

**:==: Large room**

Rin slowly walked towards the wall covered in pictures of the past students and noticed that under all of them was a plate with a name which he assumed belonged to the respective owner.

Rin pulled out the picture of the two girls and quickly scanned the wall, looking for the two.

"Saka Naomi, Sakuya Keta, Sakura Ogami… Ah! There's the girl with the ponytail—Sakumu Tashio, the Ultimate Archaeologist," Rin said, sounding out the names and he quickly set to work finding the other. "Ketaru Eshido, Keta Yuki, Ken Fudo… Finally found her. Kataka Myoko, the Ultimate Doll Maker," Rin continued.

"I swear that, when I get out of this place, I will find your families and tell them what happened, because I know how much it hurts to lose a loved one," Rin exclaimed, turning to face the security camera.

"You hear that bear?! I'm going to survive this and, when I escape, your whole world will crumble around you!" Rin shouted.

Suddenly, the monitor switched on. "It's now 10:00 PM. Certain areas will be closed, so please return to your rooms and, remember: have sweet dreams." With that, it shut down.

Rin walked back to his room, but he spied Hibiki standing outside his room, looking down at his feet.

"Um… Hey, Hibiki. Is everything OK?" Rin asked, a bit concerned.

"Oh. Good. You're back, Rin. I was worried when you didn't return with the others," Hibiki replied, turning to face Rin with a smile.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, man," Rin said, feeling ashamed.

"No. It's fine. I just wanted to see that you got back safely," Hibiki replied, about to go into his room.

"Hey… Um… Hibiki… Before you turn in, can I just say you're a great friend? You're probably one of the nicest people that I've ever met, so thank you," Rin said with huge smile.

"No need to thank me. I'm just glad that we had a good day together, but I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna turn in. Goodnight, Rin," Hibiki replied before walking into his room and closing the door.

"Same to you, Hibiki," Rin said, doing the same.

As Rin drifted off to sleep, he was now more determined to get out of this hell alive.

* * *

**Wow. This one was a fun write, and I'm sorry if I didn't give as much screen time to some as I did others, but as the chapters go on, I assure you that everyone will have their time to shine. And don'tforget to vote for the next chapter free time event**


	13. Free time 4

"Rin, come downstairs this instant!" Rin's mom shouted from the hallway.

Rin slowly got out of his bed and got dressed, then rushed down to greet his mother.

"Good morning, Mom. Where's Dad today?" Rin asked, giving his mother a small kiss in the cheek.

"Oh, you know him. Probably working on some big story," she replied with a smile. "But if you don't hurry, you're gonna be late for school," she continued, rushing him to the door.

As Rin stepped out, he quickly checked his jacket pocket, looking for his notebook, but finding that it wasn't there, he walked back inside.

"Hey, Mom. I jus- AHHHHHHH!" Rin let out a gut-wrenching scream when he walked into the kitchen.

There, his mother and father were impaled on meat hooks, blood dripping from the open wounds.

"No! This isn't real it can't be!" Rin shouted to himself.

Rin was panicking and tried to rush back outside, but a wall had formed, trapping him in with the bodies, and slowly, his father's head started to speak.

"Rin, why did you abandon us?" his father gurgled as blood started to pour from his mouth.

"No. You both died and I found the killer," Rin shook with fear.

"You left us to die. You never cared about us." His mother's body started to shake.

"No. I still miss you," Rin said, starting to back up.

The bodies started to move forwards until they had cornered him.

"Then join us in the afterlife!" they shouted, lunging towards him.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Rin shouted, sitting straight up in bed, clutching his chest.

As Rin gasped for air, he could hear screams from other rooms and he quickly rushed out into the hallway where he saw Hibiki, as white as a sheet.

"Hibiki, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Rin panicked, rushing to the hairdresser's side.

"I-I know that it was a dream, but it felt so real," Hibiki spoke softly, clutching his arms and trembling.

Suddenly, the monitor came to life with Monokuma's picture and voice. "Good morning. It is now 7 AM, but could everyone please come to the gymnasium?" With that, it shut off.

Rin slowly grabbed the still-shaking Hibiki's arm and made his way to the gym, noticing that everyone was coming out of their rooms, as well.

**:==: Gym**

When Rin and the others entered, they saw Monokuma standing atop his podium with a shining glass bottle in his paw.

"Oh, I'm so glad that everyone could make it. Mind you, it's not like you had a choice. By the way, did everyone have a pleasant night?" Monokuma asked with a smirk.

"W-what did you do to us bear?!" Lin shouted, breaking her normally calm nature.

"Well, let's just say that I slipped something special into that food that you ate last night," Monokuma replied with a cruel smile.

Everyone stood there in silence, some due to fear and others anger. That was, until Miyuki spoke up.

"What exactly did you give us?" she said her, lip trembling.

"So, you see, the stuff that I all drugged you with is my very own concoction which I like to call Nightmare Fuel," Monokuma said with a laugh.

"What exactly are the effects of this homemade drug," Noriyori spoke with a cough.

"It gives you the sniffles. What do you thing it does?! It gives you unending nightmares every time you doze off to sleep!" Monokuma shouted back.

"W-why would you do such a terrible thing?!" Annashia cried on the verge of tears.

"Because I was freaking tired of all this lovey-dovey crap and I think that it's time for some murder," Monokuma replied with a grin.

Everyone froze on the last word 'murder'. Memories from last time came flooding back to Rin—the bodies, the trial, and most horrifically, the blood. Rin was about to drop to his knees until Sigma spoke up.

"So, then, I assume that the drug is our motive, somehow," she stated, still keeping her stern nature.

"Well, in a way, yes. You see, this bottle in my paw is the antidote to this disease, and the only way that anyone will get it is by axing someone off," the bear replied, tossing to bottle up and down.

"D-does only the killer get the antidote?" Ryou asked hesitantly.

"Nope. Everyone gets a bottle. Well, everyone except the poor schmuck who got killed, so you can say that you did it for everyone, but let's face it, it's for the killer's sake and only them," Monokuma said with a gleam in his eyes.

With that, Monokuma jumped behind his podium and disappeared, leaving everyone in silence until Lin spoke up.

"I think that it would be best if we all had something to eat," Lin stated calmly, try to regain her composure.

"R-right. I can make something nice for everyone," Makko replied, walking towards the doors with a few others.

**:==:Cafeteria**

When Rin sat down with the others. It felt like there was a heavy sheet over him which was making it hard to breathe and everyone seemed tense and tired. He even saw Fuyu start to drift off.

"Hey, Fuyu. Don't fall asleep," Miyuki said, shaking the tamer.

"Gah… Jeez… Thanks for keeping me up… I don't know why, but I just feel so tired…" Fuyu said, yawning.

"I would assume that it's another effect of the drug that we ingested," Noriyori said, also yawning.

Suddenly, a loud scream came from the kitchen. Rin and Annashia rushed into the room, seeing Makko holding a kitchen knife and visibly shaking.

"J-just stay back! D-don't you dare come near me, you hear?!" Makko shouted, waving the knife around.

"He must have blacked out and had a nightmare," Annashia said, backing up.

"Well, what do we do? He's got a knife. He could hurt himself or others," Rin stated, keeping his eyes on Makko.

"You guys go on either side of him, and while he's distracted, I can rush in and disarm him," Lin said, appearing behind the pair.

"Wait. Are you sure that that's a safe idea? You could get hurt," Rin stated hesitantly.

"No time to think about that. So, on three. One, two, THREE!" Lin shouted.

Rin quickly dashed to the left while Annashia moved to the right and Makko's head kept trying to keep track of them. Lin rushed in and grabbed his hand with the knife, twisting it roughly, making him drop the knife with a scream. Then, she held him in a chokehold. By then, everyone else had gathered in the doorway, looking in and trying to see what had just happened.

"Noriyori, we could use your help in here! I wanna make sure that I didn't break his arm!" Lin shouted back into the crowd.

As Noriyori examined the still-struggling Makko, Miyuki came up to the fisherman, putting her hands on his cheeks, and started to speak softly.

"You just need to calm down, now, because everything is going to be all right," Miyuki said, all while closing her eyes.

Slowly, Makko calmed down and started to relax enough for Lin to let him go.

"Wow. That was amazing on both of your parts. Thank you Lin and Miyuki," Annashia said with a large sigh.

"Well, it doesn't look like you broke anything, and I would say to let him get some rest, but we all know that that's a bad idea," Noriyori said with a cough, standing up.

Everyone soon returned to the table with Makko sitting between Lin and Shiori just in case.

"I'm sorry that that happened, guys. I must have dozed off while making the food," Makko said, holding his head low.

"You're fine, but I think that, from now on, we need to stick in pairs so that everyone can stay awake," Sigma said calmly.

"Screw that! I saw what happened in the kitchen. There's no way that I'm staying with anyone that could freak out like that on a moment's notice," Tsubasa shouted, standing up abruptly.

"Look, if it would help you relax a bit, we can switch pairs every two hours. Will that help?" Sigma asked, keeping her composure.

"Like hell it would! That just gives more people chances to kill me, so you know what? I'm going to the art room! None of you had better follow me, got that?!" Tsubasa said, walking towards the exit.

"Wait, Tsubasa. Don't go off on your own," Hibiki said, standing up, but instantly sitting back down, clutching his head with a look of pain on his face. "C-could someone go and look after Tsubasa, please?" Hibiki asked, out of breath.

After a long silence with everyone looking at each other, Rin slowly raised his hand with a sigh.

"I'll look after the sour lemon, but everyone owes me, got it?" Rin said, waving to the group as he left.

**==Free Time==**

**-Tsubasa-**

**:==: Art Room**

As Rin came into view of the art room, he saw Tsubasa pacing back in forth in front of the door, biting his thumb.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Rin asked, catching the painter's attention.

"Oh. It's just you, Rin. I guess that I have nothing to worry about, then," Tsubasa said with a small smirk.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. I'm just here to keep an eye on you, OK?" Rin replied with a sigh.

"Fine, then. You can at least make yourself useful, so go in there and strip," Tsubasa said with a shrug.

"What the hell?!" Rin shouted, even more annoyed now than before.

"Look, I just need a model and the only things that I can paint here are stupid Monokuma figures," Tsubasa said, opening the door and walking in.

"I'm not stripping for you," Rin said, following the painter.

"Fine, then. At least take off that ugly jacket" Tsubasa replied, taking a seat in front of an easel.

"I don't that think that it's ugly," Rin grumbled, taking it off.

Rin modelled for Tsubasa for a bit.

"Alright. We can call it a day here," Tsubasa said, standing up.

"Great. Now I can move from this awkward position," Rin said, groaning and lifting himself off of the floor.

"OK. You can leave, now," Tsubasa said, packing up his pencils.

"Wait. Can't I see it before I leave?" Rin said, a little distraught.

"Well, it's not finished, but fine," Tsubasa sighed, turning the picture to face Rin.

The image was of Rin, lying on his side with a forlorn look upon his face while he held a cup overflowing with liquid.

"Y-you did this all in that time?" Rin gasped.

"You looked surprised. I _am_ the Ultimate Painter, after all," Tsubasa said with a cheeky smile.

"I wanted to ask you about how you got your title, if that's OK with you," Rin asked, raising his head from looking at the sketch.

"Tch. Fine. If you must know, it started when I was young and still in grade school," Tsubasa replied, sitting back down while Rin found himself a chair.

"All the teachers said that I had great skill doing simple sketches of birds and bugs that I found interesting and as a kid," Tsubasa continued. "So, like any small kid, I would show them to my parents, but they never really cared about my art or me," Tsubasa sighed. "But, being young, my parents' opinion meant the world to me, so I told myself that they would care if I got better," Tsubasa said, looking down at his feet.

"Wow. I'm sorry to hear that, but did it get any better?" Rin asked.

"No. It never did. No matter how much I improved, my parents were either too drunk or couldn't care enough to even acknowledge me," Tsubasa replied with a scowl.

"Eventually, I had to move in with my grandparents because my parents were deemed unfit to raise me, not that I really cared. They didn't, either," Tsubasa said, standing up.

"Um… Is everything OK?" Rin asked, a bit concerned.

"No. It's not OK. I'm tired of this lovey-dovey crap. I'm going to my room, and don't follow me," Tsubasa hissed, grabbing the sketch and storming out of the room.

_'Well so much for that,'_ Rin thought to himself. _'I think Tsubasa and I bonded a bit.'_

As Rin exited the art room, he noticed Miyuki standing in the hallway, walking a bit unsteadily, swaying back and forth, about to fall over.

"Whoa! Hold on there! Are you OK?" Rin asked, rushing up to grab the librarian.

"Oh. Thank you. I'm fine, Rin. Just a bit woozy. Do you mind walking me to the nurse's office?" Miyuki asked, propping herself up on Rin's shoulder.

**==Free Time==**

**-Miyuki-**

**:==: Nurse's Office**

When Rin entered the room with Miyuki, he quickly set to work by setting down on a bed and grabbing a cup of water.

"Thank you, Rin," Miyuki said shakily, grabbing the cup.

"Hey. No problem. Is there anything else that I could help you with?" Rin asked with a smile.

"Do you mind if we talk about books?" Miyuki replied with her own smile.

"Not at all," Rin said, grabbing his own cup of water.

"Good. I wanted to talk about romance novels," Miyuki said, taking a sip of her water.

"Gah! Jeez! What makes you think that I read those?" Rin said, choking a bit after a sip.

"Oh, I don't know if you do, but it's a good starting subject," Miyuki said with a smile.

Miyuki and Rin talked about books for a while.

"So, have you heard about Toko Fukawa?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, I have heard about her, but I've never read any of her books," Rin said sheepishly.

"By the way, what was that that you did in the cafeteria, earlier?" Rin asked.

"Oh, just a meditation technique I picked up from a book I read once," Miyuki replied with a small laugh.

"You just happened to remember that right then and there?" Rin said, a bit suspicious.

"I remember almost anything that I read in books, whether it's about meditation or landmarks in America," Miyuki replied, sighing. "I read all of the books in my parents' private library. Then, I moved on to the public one, reading most of those," she continued. "After a while, I realized that I wanted to preserve books, so I started to make my own collection of rare books," Miyuki said with a small smile.

"So, did your parents help you?" Rin asked.

"No. They split up soon after, but they kept telling me that it was because of them and not me," Miyuki said, frowning.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," Rin replied, turning away.

"Oh, no. It's fine. I knew that it would happen one day, so I just decided to accept it," Miyuki replied, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Rin asked, standing as well.

"Sigma asked everyone to meet in the cafeteria in a little while, so we might be a little late. Sorry about that," Miyuki said, walking towards the door.

"OK, then. Right behind you," Rin said, following suit. _'I think that Miyuki and I bonded a bit.'_

**:==: Cafeteria**

When Rin and Miyuki entered the room, he noticed that the only people there were Sigma, Noriyori, Annashia and Hibiki.

"Is this everyone?" Rin asked, a bit confused.

"Sadly, yes. No one else decided to show up," Annashia said with a sigh.

"It's fine. This just further proves who I can trust here," Sigma said, standing up.

"So… Uh… What did you want to talk about?" Hibiki asked hesitantly.

"I believe that someone will be killed tonight," Sigma replied calmly.

"What?! How can say something like that?!" Noriyori shouted, coughing violently.

"After the scene in the kitchen with Makko, everyone was on edge, so I believe that a murder is going to take place," Sigma replied, biting her lip.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Miyuki said catching everyone by surprise.

"I have already confiscated most of the deadly weapons including the knives in the hall closet and most of the sharp objects from the laboratory, so I need two of you to each take a box and hide it in your rooms," Sigma replied.

"But, isn't that dangerous? What if a person with a box uses a weapon to hurt someone?" Annashia asked, worried.

"I have an entire list of the contents for each box, so if an item goes missing, I will know," Sigma replied sternly.

"So, then, what about the rest of us?" Rin asked, taking a seat.

"For the rest of you, I want to keep this a secret, and from here on out, this group of six will be rotating these boxes every night from here on out, understand?" Sigma said in a commanding tone.

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Then, suddenly, the monitor turned on with Monokuma's normal message.

"It's now 10 PM. The cafeteria and other areas will be closing soon, so return to your rooms and have pleasant dreams." With that, it switched off.

"OK, then. Miyuki and Annashia will be the first ones to get the boxes," Sigma stated, walking towards the exit.

While Annashia and Miyuki left with Sigma, Rin went back to the rooms with Noriyori and Hibiki.

"Well, I'm going to retire to my room," Noriyori said to the two with a cough, giving a small wave.

"Same, but I doubt that I will get any sleep. What about you, Hibiki?" Rin said, sighing.

"I'm going to stay out until the three of them return," Hibiki replied with a smile.

"OK, then. Goodnight, then," Rin said, going into his room.

As Rin laid his head upon his pillow, he tried to keep his eyes open, but he soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: OK. Time for a murder. You can guess who it is by leaving a review, but now I wanted to talk to everyone who reads this.**

**I'm going to be writing a new story and it is going to be one of an anime. Some of you might have heard of Mirai Nikki/Future Diary.**

**I have watched all of the episodes and have fallen in love with it and decided to write my own fanfic, but I need a few characters for this, and unlike this story, it will not only be in first person writing, but every O.C. will be given a few chapters to flesh out their stories.**

**So, if you have any interest in this, I will have the link to the story, plus the O.C. forum, on my profile.**

**Second thing is that I'm looking for another beta reader to help out with these stories, I already have an amazing one but she lives in the UK and the timezones are hard to work with, so if your interested please contact me and I will give you more details. **


	14. Investigation 2

**A/N: First, let me tell you that my birthday wasn't the best (May 5th). I spent it in the hospital with meningitis, and right after I got out, my brother had the flu, so I was stuck taking care of him and finally I found out that I share the same date of birth with Byakuya Togami, so all in all, it's kinda been a shitty week.**

Rin paced around the room, trying his best to stay awake, and sadly, it wasn't working as his eyelids got heavier with his pace getting slower and slower.

"N-no… I have to stay awake... I can't see those images again…" Rin muttered to himself while taking a seat on his bed.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" A loud scream penetrated the silence and Rin snapped up from the pillow that he was about to rest on.

"Great. Someone fell asleep," Rin sighed, standing up and walking towards the shower.

While Rin undressed and got into the shower, all he could think of was about how they all had to fight for survival and that it was more like a sick form of torture instead of a game like Monokuma had said.

As Rin stepped out, still incredibly tired, he was met with the now-familiar Monokuma announcement. "It's now 7 AM, so it's time to rise and shine and have a beautiful day." With that, the monitor switched off.

Rin slowly re-dressed and walked out of his room, holding up a hand to greet Hibiki. "Good morning, Hibiki," Rin said with a smile, but then he realised that the hairdresser was nowhere to be seen and Rin assumed that he was still in his room and tried the handle.

"Locked," Rin muttered under his breath and then slowly made his way to the cafeteria, but ran into Annashia on the way there.

"Oh. Good morning, Rin. Did you sleep well?" she asked with a small smile.

Rin gave her a look that basically said 'why on earth would you ask that?' but replied with his own smile.

"Not really. In fact, I think that I stayed up all night," Rin replied.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like to walk to the cafeteria together?" Annashia asked, holding out her hand.

"Sure. Why not? Hey. Remind me. Do they have a coffee machine in there?" Rin asked pleadingly.

"No. I think that it's only a kettle for tea," Annashia replied, starting to walk.

"... Great…" Rin sighed, walking after the girl.

**:==: Cafeteria**

When Rin entered the room, he was met with an atmosphere that you would find in a cruddy hospital where everyone was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

As Rin sat down, he noticed that everyone had large bags under their eyes like they had pulled an all-nighter and saw that Noriyori was looking the worst out of them all.

"Hey. Is everything OK, Noriyori?" Rin called over at the sickly forensics specialist and slowly walked over.

"Oh… Uh… Good morning, Rin… No. I'm sad to say that I'm not feeling well," Noriyori replied with a cough, looking like he was about collapse.

Suddenly, Annashia came rushing over with a large mug. "Here. I brought you some hot tea. I hope that it helps," Annashia said, quickly handing the mug to Noriyori.

"Thank you. This will help a lot," Noriyori said with a weak smile.

"Here. Let me sit with you for a bit," Annashia replied with her own smile.

That's when Euri stood up and started to speak.

"Shiori and I are headeing to the dojo to train for a bit, so we need one of you to come along for safety reasons," Euri called out to the crowd, looking for a volunteer.

Slowly, Lin raised her hand and spoke. "I'll go, but only because I want to spar with Shiori, myself." She sighed and stood up.

"Fine with me, but if I win, you have to wear something pink," Shiori shot back, walking towards the doors.

Lin shot her a look that looked as if she had just found a rare gem, but silently followed her with Euri, and with that, the three were gone.

Rin quickly turned back to the two who he'd been talking with, but noticed that Annashia and Noriyori were wrapped up in their own conversation and decided to grab a cup of tea, himself.

As Rin poured himself a cup, he stopped cold for the monitor turned on and Monokuma made his horrific announcement.

"A body has been discovered. After a brief investigation period, a class trial will begin." With that, it shut off.

Rin quickly rushed out of the kitchen, looking around and seeing everyone's shocked faces either in fear or confusion. Then, Shiori burst through the doors, shouting, "Everyone! Come quick! It's the dojo!" before running back out.

Everyone quickly followed, rushing towards the second floor.

**:==: 2nd floor**

**:==:Dojo**

As the group rushed in, they all came to a dead stop, for what Rin saw made his blood run cold.

There, lying in the center of the room, was Hibiki Hayashi with five arrows sticking out of his back and blood staining the floor mats.

Everyone slowly started to whisper and fan out around the room until Monokuma appeared with a large cart behind him.

"Well, I'm glad to see that everyone is here. This makes it a lot easier," Monokuma said, pulling a glass bottle from the cart.

"W-wait. That's the antidote. So that means that Hibiki is really dead, then," Rin said, looking at the bear.

"Well, of course he is. Why else would I be handing these things out?" Monokuma replied, handing Rin and everyone else a bottle until one was left.

"Oh. Whoops. Now, why did I go and do that? I knew that there was going to be a body. Meh. It was just a mix up, I guess, but before I forget…" Monokuma continued, pulling his tablet from the cart and pressing it.

**Evidence Added.**

**Monokuma File No.2**

**::l Victim: Hibiki Hayashi l**

**::l Cause of death: Multiple wounds to the back and bled out l**

**::l Additional notes: Died from the third wound l**

As Rin read the file, he unconsciously opened the bottle and took a sip and his head shot up quickly and he felt full of energy.

"Whoa. I feel like running in a marathon all of a sudden," Rin gasped and looked around, seeing the others have the same reaction.

"I couldn't have everyone investigating half asleep, now, could I?" Monokuma said with a wry smile.

"No. I guess that you can't," Rin replied, his energy returning to normal.

"Well, you kids have fun, now, I will see you all in a bit." With that, Monokuma left with his cart.

Rin stood there silently with thoughts running through his head until Miyuki pulled on his sleeve snapping him out of his trance.

"Rin, I know that this is hard for you, but we need to find out who did, and if it's OK with you, let's investigate together again," Miyuki said with sadness in her eyes.

"Y-you're right. Let's begin with this room, then," Rin replied, trying his best to smile.

**Investigation Start**

Looking around the room, Rin noticed Lin and Noriyori who were examining the body.

"Hey, let's see if they found anything, Rin," Miyuki stated, walking over to the pair.

"Might as well," Rin said, following suit.

**\- Noriyori**

**\- Lin**

"How's it going, you two?" Miyuki asked, bending down to get a closer look.

"Not much so far, but Lin has decided to help me," Noriyori replied with a small cough.

"Yes. Even though I can't do much for a body, I thought that I could help with the arrows," Lin said coldly.

"Oh, yeah. That's right. You're the Ultimate Hunter. So, did you find anything interesting?" Rin asked, trying not to look at the body of his friend.

"Well, I will know later, but right off the bat, I can tell you that the placement of the arrows are strange," Lin replied, touching one of the arrows lightly.

"Wait. How so?" Miyuki asked, a bit confused.

"It's the grouping, mostly. They're all in a cluster in an area and not spread out, so either we have an Ultimate Archer in our midst, or Hibiki stood still for all five arrows," Lin replied, moving her hand around the body.

**Evidence Added: Group of arrows.**

**The arrows are in a strange cluster on Hibiki's body.**

"Thanks, you two," Miyuki said, standing up.

"No problem, and we will have finished before the trial and I will tell you what I found then," Noriyori replied with a small smile.

"Well, let's see what else we can find here," Rin said, walking around the room.

**\- Sword rack**

"Well, I don't see much here," Miyuki said with a sigh.

"Don't sound so dejected. We may find something, yet," Rin said, moving a stack of practice swords.

"Hey. What's that on the ground?" Miyuki asked, bending down and picking something up.

"It looks like a small piece of plastic," Rin replied, putting the swords back.

"It's got blood on it!" Miyuki exclaimed, holding the piece up to her eye.

**Evidence Added: Small piece of plastic.**

**A small scrap of plastic covered in blood found near the rack of swords.**

"Well, I think that's all we're going to find here." Rin sighed, walking towards the door.

"Um… OK. Wait up, Rin," Miyuki said, trying her best to keep up.

**:==: Hallway**

As Rin and Miyuki exited the dojo, they ran into a panicked Makko who was running about.

"Whoa. Slow down there, Makko. What's wrong?" Rin asked, grabbing the fisherman's shoulders.

"Jeez. I can't explain it. Maybe you guys should see," Makko replied, obviously worried.

"OK. Then, lead the way," Miyuki said, concerned.

**:==: 1st floor Hall closet**

When the group entered, the closet they saw Euri standing there looking intently at the ground.

"Hey, Euri. I brought Rin and Miyuki with me," Makko said, out of breath.

"OK. That's good. Maybe they can explain this," Euri replied, walking a bit to the left and revealing a large pool of blood.

"Whoa. Where on Earth did this come from?" Rin asked, shocked.

"Well, if we could answer that, we wouldn't need you, now, would we?" Euri replied, annoyed.

"OK, then. Let's have a look, shall we?" Miyuki said calmly.

Rin looked at the large blood stain covering the floor, grimacing at the amount.

"You guys have any ideas?" Makko asked.

"Well, what's weird is that it's even here to begin with," Miyuki stated, looking around.

"Wait. How so?" Euri asked, puzzled.

"She's saying that, if Hibiki was killed in the dojo, then why is there this pool of blood here?" Rin replied, sighing.

"Y-you don't think that there's another body, do you?" Makko asked, obviously scared.

"No. I counted. Everyone was there in the dojo when Monokuma handed out the bottles," Rin sighed.

"Well, it's still strange that this blood is even here," Euri said, scratching her head.

**Evidence Added: Large pool of blood.**

**A large pool of blood found in the 1st floor hall closet.**

"Well, Makko, you stay here. I'm gonna see if I can get Noriyori down here to look at this," Euri said, heading towards the door.

"Whoa. Wait. Why do I have to stay in here?" Makko asked, confused.

"Because I stayed last time, so it's your turn," she replied, walking out the door.

Makko hung his head in defeat until Miyuki pulled on his sleeve.

"Um… Makko. I wanted to ask if you heard or saw anything last night," Miyuki stated with a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, but the only thing that I heard was that loud scream of someone having a nightmare. It was probably around 10:30," Makko replied, frowning.

"No. It's fine. Thank you, though," Miyuki said with a small smile.

**Evidence Added: Makko's Testimony.**

**Heard a loud scream at around 10:30.**

"OK. Rin and I have some more investigating to do, so we gotta go," Miyuki said, grabbing Rin's arm and hauling him off.

"Well, OK. Bye, then" Makko said, giving a small wave.

**:==: Hallway 1st floor**

"Rin, there's a place that I think we need to check out," Miyuki said with a determined look on her face.

"OK, then. Lead the way," Rin said, shrugging.

**:==: Nurse's office**

"Um… Miyuki. The body is on the second floor, so why are we in here?" Rin asked, confused.

"There's something that I need to check," Miyuki said, walking over to the small fridge.

"Aha! Just as I expected!" she exclaimed, gesturing at Rin to come over.

"So, what did you find that's so interesting?" Rin asked, a bit curious.

"It's what I didn't find that's so interesting," Miyuki replied with a smile, showing Rin the fridge full of blood packs.

"It's just a bunch of blood packs. What's weird about that?" Rin said, still a bit confused.

"Well, two of them are missing, and unless someone had a transfusion recently, I think that someone stole them," Miyuki replied, standing up.

**Evidence Added: Missing blood packs.**

**Two blood packs are missing from the nurse's office fridge.**

"OK. I think we should head back to the second floor, now, if that's ok with you," Rin said, giving Miyuki an inquisitive look.

"Sounds fine to me," Miyuki replied, walking towards the door.

**:==: 2nd floor changing rooms**

"OK. I will look in the girl's one, and you look in the boy's, OK?" Miyuki asked, walking up to the door and sliding her ID through the ID reader.

"It's not like I could get in there, anyway," Rin sighed, doing the same with his ID.

**:==: Male changing room**

Rin walked into the room, still seeing the large amount of lockers, and set to work checking each one, finding that most of them were still locked but were able to be opened with his ID, and after finding nothing, headed for the pool.

**:==: Pool**

When Rin exited the room, he noticed Miyuki standing in front of her door holding what looked like a towel.

"Hey, Miyuki. Is everything alright?" Rin asked, walking over.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just found something odd," Miyuki replied, holding up the towel.

"So, it's just a towel. There's nothing interesting about it from what I can see," Rin said, wondering why Miyuki had brought it out.

"Here. Help me spread it out. Then, you can see," Miyuki said, handing Rin one end of the towel.

After spreading it out, Rin gasped, seeing that the towel was covered in blood.

"Jeez. What the hell was this used for?" Rin said, trying not to gag.

"I don't, know but when I looked at the other towels in the changing room, it's different and kinda reminds me of one from our bathrooms," Miyuki replied, rubbing her chin.

**Evidence Added: Bloody towel**

**A bloody towel found in the girl's changing room. Seems to be from a bathroom.**

"OK. I think that we're just about done. There's only a few places left that we can check," Miyuki said, running back into her changing room.

"Seriously. It's like she is an entirely different person when she investigates," Rin sighed to himself.

**:==: Laboratory**

Rin and Miyuki entered the lab and the first thing that Rin noticed was how barren it was.

"Wow. So, I guess that when Sigma said that she'd gathered all of the dangerous objects, she hit this room pretty hard," Rin said, giving a small whistle.

"Yeah, but something is off about this room," Miyuki replied, giving the room a quick once over.

As Rin searched the room with Miyuki, he stumbled across a tool box, finding a screwdriver inside.

"Um… Miyuki. Come and take a look at this," Rin called over at the librarian.

"What's u-? Whoa. That shouldn't be there," Miyuki said, stopping halfway, seeing Rin up hold the screwdriver.

"Yeah. I would think that, if Sigma was gathering up all of the potential weapons, she would have taken this," Rin replied, standing up.

"Then let's go and ask her about it," Miyuki said, heading towards the door.

**Evidence Added: Screwdriver.**

**A screwdriver found in the laboratory.**

When the pair exited the lab, they heard the monitor turn on with its all too familiar click.

"If everyone could please proceed to the gymnasium, the class trail is about to begin." Monokuma's voice blared and then quickly shut off.

"OK. It looks like it's time. Plus, we can meet up with Noriyori and Sigma when we get to the gym," Rin said, making his way towards the stairs.

**:==: 1st floor Gymnasium**

Rin spotted Sigma as he entered the gym and quickly rushed over.

"Sigma, I would like to ask you about something," Rin said sternly.

"What is it, Masko?" Sigma replied, turning on her heel.

"Miyuki and I found a screwdriver in the lab and we were wondering if you missed it," Rin stated, feeling a bit intimidated.

"I didn't miss anything. I searched that room from top to bottom," Sigma replied crossing her arms.

"Well, you said that you had a list, right? Can we just have a check?" Miyuki spoke up, out of breath.

"Fine, but understand this: I did not miss anything," Sigma said, pulling a large piece of paper from her coat.

Rin quickly looked over the list, finding that each box had a column in which the names of dangerous items were with a number next to them and he noticed that box No.2 had 'screwdrivers x4' written underneath 'hammers x2'.

"OK. Thank you, Sigma, and I'm sorry if I offended you," Rin said, returning the list.

"Think nothing of it. I understand that you were very close to Hibiki," Sigma replied, frowning.

"Yeah. I guess I was," Rin said, sighing.

**Evidence Added: Sigma's list.**

**A list with the contents of two boxes. Box two has four screwdrivers.**

At that moment, Noriyori and Lin walked into the room and came over to the trio.

"Ah. It's a good thing that you guys are here. I finished my report on Hibiki and wanted to talk to you about it in person," Noriyori said, out of breath.

"The body seems to have bled out somewhere other than the dojo. Plus, the arrows don't entirely match the wounds," Lin said calmly.

"Wait. You're telling me that Hibiki was killed somewhere else?" Rin asked, shocked

"It looks that way, and like Lin said, the arrows don't match the wounds. It seems that the weapon was something sharper," Noriyori said with a small cough.

**Evidence Added: Noriyori's Report.**

**::l The body bled out in a different area l**

**::l The wounds don't match the arrows found at the scene l**

"Thanks a ton, you two," Rin said with a smile.

"No problem. Plus, I think that we made it just in time," Lin replied, turning towards the door.

As she spoke, the other students came into the gym in pairs until everyone had gathered together.

"T-the killer still has time to come forward. We don't have to go through with this," Annashia said, trembling.

"I doubt that that's going to happen," Shiori sighed.

"Yeah. Let's just get this shit over with," Tsubasa grumbled.

On that note, Monokuma popped out from behind his podium with a wicked smile.

"Alrighty, then. It looks like it's that time again. Oh, I can't wait to see how this goes, " Monokuma said, hugging his chest.

"Let's just start, bear," Sigma shouted at Monokuma, shutting him up.

"Fine. I will meet you down there," he replied bluntly, pushing a button and then disappearing from sight.

Soon, the elevator rose from the ground again and everyone piled, in waiting for it to descend, and as Lin was the last to enter, it shut behind her with a loud click and started to descend into the ground.

As they stood there in silence waiting for the ride to stop, Rin thought to himself that he was even more determined to find Hibiki's killer.

* * *

**A/N: Well, now it's time for a trial. Who killed sweet Hibiki and why? Find out next time. Or type it in a review I love to hear what you guys think.**

**Evidence List:**

**Monokuma File No.2**

**Cluster of arrows**

**Small piece of plastic**

**Large pool of blood**

**Makko's Testimony**

**Missing blood packs**

**Bloody towel**

**Screwdriver**

**Sigma's List**

**Noryori's Report**

**OK, so it's a bit less evidence than the first trial, but it's still a lot, but it's side note time.**

**I'm still looking for O.C.'s for my new story. I have about 4-5 when I need 10 and I still am looking for an extra beta reader to help me out, so just contact me about that.**


	15. Trial 2 Part 1

The group descended down into the depths of the school once more within the confines of the elevator, waiting to reach the trial grounds. All the while, Rin thought over the clues in his head.

'Why was Hibiki found in the dojo? Where did the screwdriver come from and was Sigma telling the truth?' The thoughts went around Rin's mind like a pinball in its machine, constantly bouncing until it was too much and he had to shake himself back to reality before he lost sight of what he needed to do.

"I have to find Hibiki's killer, not just for us, but for him, as well," Rin quietly muttered under his breath.

Finally, the elevator jerked to a halt and the doors slowly creaked open and, much to everyone's amazement, the room besides the stands that they stood in had completely changed. Gone were the bright birds and large trees, and in their place were planets and stars which were connected by a line to form constellations. Then, there was Monokuma, sitting upon his throne, looking rather bored until the group of students stepped in.

"So, how do you like the new look? I went with an outer space theme for this trial," Monokuma said, giggling.

"You don't say," Euri replied in her overly-sarcastic tone.

"Fine. Ignore my hard work and take your spots like before," Monokuma said, obviously angry at Euri's comment.

As everyone took their spots for the second time, Rin saw Isamu's portrait which was crossed out and grimaced as he remembered what had happened the last time, but Rin still took his place, preparing for what was about to happen.

"Alright. I assume that you don't need a refresher on how this works, so lets jump right in," Monokuma sighed, leaning back in his seat.

**CLASS TRIAL IS NOW IN SESSION**

"OK. So, it's just like last time. Then, should we start with where the body was found?" Makko asked.

"Sounds fine with me," Fuyu shrugged.

"Alright! Let's get this under way!" Shiori shouted, pounding her fist into her palm.

"No need to get so worked up, Shiori," Mamoru chuckled.

"I-I'm sorry," Shiori sighed.

* * *

**Non-Stop Debate**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Monokuma File No.2**

**::l Small piece of plastic**

**::l Noriyori's Report**

"So, the body was found in the dojo," Ryou said crossing his arms.

"Yeah, and the way we found it was mortifying," Annashia shuddered.

"So, then, **Hibiki was killed in the dojo!**" Makko proudly stated.

"But, why was he even in the dojo?" Miyuki asked.

"I don't know. It just makes the the most sense," Makko shrugged.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition used: Noriyori's Report**

* * *

"I'm sorry to say this, but I think that Hibiki was killed somewhere else, Makko," Rin said, crossing his arms.

"Wait. What do you mean?" Makko asked, confused.

"I can explain this one, Rin," Noriyori chimed in with a coy smile. "After examining the body, I found that he had bled out in a different location," he continued.

"Then, what about the pool of blood at the crime scene?" Euri asked, puzzled.

"Oh! Oh! I know this one!" Shiori said, raising her hand.

* * *

**Non-Stop Debate**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Missing blood packs**

**::l Screwdriver**

**::l Bloody towel**

**::l Small piece of plastic**

"When we found the body, all of the floor mats were stained with blood," Shiro said with a big smile.

"How on Earth would that even work?" Euri asked, crossing her arms.

"Maybe the body still had some blood in it," Shiori said with a laugh.

"You really are clueless, aren't you?" Tsubasa said, sighing.

"What if the **mats were already stained**?" Lin asked.

"Then, where on earth did they get more blood from?" Annashia asked, scratching her head.

"Everyone is here, so there's not a second body," Sigma replied, crossing her arms.

"I agree!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition used: Small piece of plastic**

* * *

"I think that you're right, Lin," Rin said with a smile.

"Oh? How so?" Euri asked, puzzled.

"When Miyuki and I searched the room, we found a small scrap of plastic that was covered in blood," Rin stated, looking over at the librarian who nodded in agreement.

"Oh, please. That could have come from anything," Tsubasa scoffed.

"Then, do you want to explain where it came from?" Miyuki asked, yawning a bit.

"Geh. Where do you get off talking to me like that?" Tsubasa retorted, seeming as if he was about to burst.

"OK. Lets get back on topic, now. So, if the blood was already there, where did it come from?" Sigma said, calmly ignoring the painter.

* * *

**Non-Stop Debate**

**::l Noriyori's report**

**::l Bloody towel**

**::l Screwdriver**

"I guess that that is the question," Mamoru sighed.

"So, we can assume that it came from another source, right?" Ryou asked, frowning.

"Yeah, like from a different body!" Makko exclaimed.

"We know that there isn't another victim, you idiot," Euri said, glaring at Makko.

"What if it came from the killer?" Shiori proposed.

"They probably wouldn't be alive if they lost that much blood," Noriyori said, shaking his head.

"It could just be that the blood **was there the entire time** and no one noticed it," Tsubasa said, rubbing his forehead.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared

**Ammunition used: Ryou's statement: another source**

* * *

"Sorry, Tsubasa but I think that we can say that it came from something else," Rin sighed.

"Oh, yeah? What makes you so sure about that?" Tsubasa asked, biting his lip.

"Because of Euri and Shiori," Rin replied, looking at the two.

"Wait. Us?" Shiori asked, confused.

"Since you both train there, I assume that you have used the mats, so did either of you see any blood on them?" Rin asked sternly.

"Well, it's true that we used a lot of them, but I don't remember seeing any blood," Euri replied, looking at Shiori who shook her head.

"So, the blood must have come from somewhere else, Tsubasa," Rin explained to the painter who was looking down at his feet.

"Fine, then! You tell us how the blood got there!" Tsubasa shouted, obviously pissed off.

* * *

**How did the blood get there?**

**:| It was from someone else.**

**:| _It was carried there._**

**:| It was on the other side of the mat.**

* * *

"I've got it!" Rin declared.

"The blood was carried there," Rin said, determined.

"W-wait! What?!" Makko stuttered.

"Wow. You must be dumber than you look to think that," Tsubasa scoffed.

"I do have to admit that that sounds unlikely," Mamoru sighed.

"Well, he could be right," Annashia said, quietly.

"Yeah, right," Tsubasa said mockingly.

* * *

**Non-Stop Debate**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Missing blood packs**

**::l Screwdriver**

**::l Monokuma File No.2**

**::l Bloody towel**

"What if they carried it in a bucket?" Shiori proposed.

"Then, where is the bucket now?" Fuyu asked, sighing.

"I know. It was carried in a pot from the kitchen. Then, they washed it afterwards," Makko said with a big smile.

"Could someone just make him stop talking?" Euri gave a exasperated sigh.

"I can tell you the answer. **There's no way that it got carried there!**" Tsubasa exclaimed.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

Ammunition used: Missing blood packs

* * *

"No. There is a very easy way for the blood to be brought there," Rin said, trying to relax.

"OK, smart guy. Tell us," Tsubasa growled, still pissed off.

"The blood packs from the Nurse's office," Rin said calmly.

"Wait. What do you mean?" Fuyu asked, confused.

"You could theoretically take one of those packs and open it to make a fake blood pool and the piece of plastic enforces this even more," Rin said, trying to explain it.

"But, why would the killer do this?" Lin questioned, her eyes seeming to be alert.

"They wanted to create a fake crime scene, obviously," Sigma stated, running a hand through her hair.

Everyone stood there in either shock or silence, but they all looked at Sigma who was calm as ever.

"W-why on Earth would they go and do that?" Annashia asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't exactly know just yet, but probably to enforce their alibis," Sigma stated, closing her eyes in thought.

"So, if the crime scene is fake, then where is the real one?" Mamoru asked, scratching his head.

* * *

**Non-Stop Debate:**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Makko's testimony**

**::l Cluster of arrows**

**::l Large Blood spot**

**::l Noriyori's report**

"So, where did Hibiki actually die?" Annashia asked, worried.

"Well, let's run through the places that we looked in," Miyuki proposed with a smile.

"Shiori and I looked in the lab, but nothing that would point there," Sigma stated firmly.

"Fuyu was with me in the rec-room when we found the body, so nothing there," Ryou sighed, hanging his head a bit.

"I was in the art room the entire time and can assure you that nothing was there," Tsubasa grumbled.

"I searched the nurse's office with Mamoru, but like everyone else, there was nothing," Annashia frowned, crossing her arms.

"It would have to be **somewhere discreet** so that no one could catch them, right?" Noriyori asked, shrugging.

"I agree with that!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition Used: Large Blood spot**

* * *

"I think that Noriyori is right about needing the place to be discreet," Rin said, trying to think.

"Oh yeah. Euri and I found a big pool of blood in the hall closet," Makko said with a big smile.

"Gah. Why didn't you bring it up sooner?" Ryou asked, shocked.

"I wanted to save it for a big reveal," Euri replied, pouting.

"Um... Getting back to the point, it may be possible that the hall closet is the real crime scene," Rin stated with a small smile.

"Well, considering the large amount of blood, you might be right," Noriyori said with a small cough.

"I'm sorry to bring this up again, but if we believe that this is the real crime scene, why was Hibiki there in the first place?" Annashia asked, worried.

"She's got a point. Why would Hibiki even be over there?" Ryou asked, scratching his head.

_'Why would Hibiki be in the hall closet?'_ Rin thought, closing his eyes.

* * *

**Flashing Anagram**

**...**

**_/_/K/_/ _/_/_/_/_/**

**...**

**F/_/K/_/ _/C/_/_/_/**

**...**

**F/A/K/_/ _/C/_/N/E/**

**...**

**F/A/K/E/ S/C/E/N/E/**

_'It's all coming together!'_

* * *

"Wait a second. I know that this might sound odd, but what if this isn't the real crime scene?" Rin said biting his lip.

"Hold on. I thought that we just said that it was the real one," Shiro said, confused

"Well, we said that it was the crime scene, but we never had proof," Rin retorted.

"Then, why are there two fake crime scenes?" Mamoru asked, putting his hand up.

"I don't know, but I'm sure that it's fake," Rin said calmly.

"Your senses are dulled!" Ryou shouted.

"Wait, Ryou. What are you saying?" Rin asked, confused.

"You're probably right about the first scene being fake, but there's no reason to make a second fake crime scene," Ryou declared.

"B-but, I'm sure that it's fake," Rin stammered.

"Then show me your proof!" Ryou said, crossing his arms.

* * *

**Cross Swords Battle**

**Useable Swords:**

**::l Missing Blood Packs**

**::l Bloody Towel**

**::l Screwdriver**

"There's no need for ==/== a second fake scene!"

"The first ==/== one was enough!"

"Plus, there might have been ==/== a chance of them getting caught!"

"It's just an unnecessary ==/== risk for the killer!"

**Advancement**

"Maybe they had to make another one because they had no other choice."

"Otherwise, they would get caught."

"Then, why make the first ==/== fake scene to begin with?!"

"They could have just ==/== left the body in the closet!"

"Then, they would make a ==/== alibi for themselves!"

"Besides, you have no proof to say that it's fake!" Ryou declared.

"I will cut that claim to pieces!" Rin stated.

**Used Sword : Missing blood packs**

* * *

"I'm sorry, Ryou, but I do have proof that it's fake" Rin sighed.

"Oh, then please share with the class, won't you?" Ryou said, glaring daggers.

"It's the blood packs from the nurse's office," Rin retorted.

"Wait. I thought that we said that the packs were used for the first scene," Mamour said, confused.

"It's true that one pack was used in the dojo, but there were two missing from the cooler," Rin said, crossing his arms.

"So, you're implying that the killer used another pack in the closet to make a second fake scene?" Sigma asked calmly.

"Yes, and I think that I know why," Rin stated.

"Then, let's hear it. Why would the killer make a second fake crime scene?" Sigma stated.

* * *

**Why a second fake scene?**

**:l For the sake of art**

**:l _To stall for time_**

**:l They really like blood**

* * *

"I've got it! The reason for the second fake scene was to stall for time," Rin declared.

"Wait. Time is your answer?" Fuyu said halfheartedly.

"Why would they need more time?" Lin asked, confused.

"I think that I can answer that," Miyuki said, raising her hand.

"Wait. How would you know?" Makko asked the librarian.

"Well, it's kinda simple, really. We only have so much time to investigate," Miyuki replied with a smile.

"So, you're saying that the killer stalled for time so that we couldn't investigate more?" Annashia asked, trying follow.

"What was the reasoning behind that, anyway?" Ryou asked, still a bit angry.

"They didn't want us to find the real scene," Sigma stated, catching everyone's attention.

Everyone stood there in silence again, trying to cope with the recent information.

"Hehe. I can't believe that I didn't realise it before," Tsubasa said, starting to laugh, catching everyone off guard.

"Um... Tsubasa... Is everything OK?" Rin asked, worried.

"It's so simple. My brain must have dulled by being with you lot," Tsubasa said, ignoring Rin.

"OK, then. Say what you're thinking," Euri said, annoyed.

"I know who the killer is," Tsubasa said with a devilish grin.

Audible gasps could be heard throughout the room and everyone had a shocked expression upon their faces, except Tsubasa who had a Cheshire Cat-like grin.

**A/N: Wow. This took a lot longer than I thought, and I'm so sorry for putting my faithful readers on the back burner for so long.**

**But, as you can see, the trial is really kicking off, and who does Tsubasa suspect of being the killer, and will he be right? Anyway, send me PM's or leave a review on what you think about the chapter and whatever else you have on your mind.**

**Sincerly,**

**Rinjai.**


	16. Trial 2 Part 2

Everyone stood there in shock at Tsubasa's statement. All around the room, there were expressions of dismay regarding what the painter had just said.

"D-do you mind repeating that?" Fuyu asked, trying to muster up the words.

"I said that I know who the killer is," Tsubasa said with a cocky grin.

"OK, then. Who's the killer?" Sigma asked, sounding a bit curious, herself.

"The way that the body was killed, the weapon that was used... It can't be anyone else but you, Lin Tachibana!" Tsubasa shouted, pointing at the huntress.

"Come again?" Lin replied, the accusation not seeming to faze her.

"The murder weapon was a bow and arrows. No one but you could have shot Hibiki, landing all five hits," Tsubasa said with a smile.

* * *

**Non-stop Debate:**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Monokuma File No.2**

**::l Makko's testimony**

**::l Sigma's list**

**::l Cluster of arrows**

"Why don't you admit it already?" Tsubasa said, still smiling.

"I won't because I didn't do it," Lin replied, trying to stay calm.

"Oh, please. The way that you killed him just screams you," Tsubasa retorted.

"What make you think that Lin killed Hibiki?" Annashia asked timidly.

"He was killed with a bow and arrows," Tsubasa stated.

"She shot him **five times one right after the other**," he continued.

"Plus, Lin is the Ultimate Hunter, so that makes her a prime candidate for the killer," Tsubasa finished with a smile.

"I guess that he has a few good points," Makko said worriedly.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition Used: Cluster of arrows**

* * *

"Tsubasa, I would like you to look closer at the arrows," Rin said calmly.

"You really think the murder weapon is going to prove her innocence?" Tsubasa said mockingly.

"If you take a closer look, you can see that they're in a strange cluster." Rin replied trying to keep his cool.

"Are you really that desperate to get a girl that you would defend a murderer?" Tsubasa continued with a grin upon his face.

"Listen. The arrows are so close together that it would almost be impossible to get them that so bunched up like that, even for her," Rin said, getting a bit flustered.

"Ha! If that's all of your proof, then you must take me for one of these other fools," Tsubasa replied, scoffing at Rin.

"If you want more proof, then, fine. I'll give it to ya," Rin stated, his temper getting the better of him.

* * *

**Present Evidence!**

**1l: _Monokuma File No. 2_**

**2l: Cluster of arrows**

**3l: Small piece of plastic**

**4l: Large pool of blood**

**5l: Makko's testimony**

**6l: Missing blood packs**

**7l: Bloody towel**

**8l: Screwdriver**

**9l: Sigma's list**

**10l: Noriyori's report**

* * *

"Here it is! The Monokuma file shows that Lin couldn't have done it with the arrows," Rin declared.

"Oh, please. It just says that he was stabbed. It still could be the arrows," Tsubasa replied, shrugging.

"If I recall, you said 'fired one shot after another', right?" Lin said, chiming in.

"Yeah? So what?" Tsubasa asked, confused.

"The file says that Hibiki died from the third wound and, in my experience, dead men don't stay standing," Lin said with what looked like a cat's grin.

"So, you're saying that the arrows aren't the murder weapon, but that doesn't prove her innocence," Tsubasa said, scowling.

"No, it doesn't, but it means that someone else might have done it besides her," Sigma stated, crossing her arms.

"So, then, what is the real murder weapon, then?" Euri asked, raising her voice.

* * *

**Non-stop Debate**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Screwdriver**

**::l Makko's testimony**

**::l Bloody towel**

"I still think that it's the arrows," Tsubasa grumbled.

"Maybe a sharp object like a knife," Ryou said, smiling.

"What about a needle?" Fuyu proposed.

"Maybe a pair of scissors," Mamoru said, chiming in.

"No. Nothing like that was used," Sigma stated bluntly.

"What makes you say that?" Makko asked the tactician.

"Just trust me. It had to be a foreign weapon—**something that you wouldn't think to use**," Sigma replied calmly.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition Used: Screwdriver**

* * *

"Sigma, I would like you to look at this," Rin said, showing a picture of the screwdriver.

"W-where did you find that?" Sigma asked, a bit shocked.

"In the laboratory, and it was quite easy to find," Rin replied, frowning.

"No. Thats not possible. I took everything," Sigma said, shaking her head, looking a bit confused.

"Wait. So, does this mean that Sigma is the killer?" Ryou asked, a bit worried.

"No. I assure you that I'm not the killer," Sigma replied, regaining a bit of her composure.

"What? We just have to take your word for it?" Fuyu said, a bit angry.

"I would hope that you could," Sigma sighed, sounding a bit dejected.

"Then, how about you tell us your alibi?" Miyuki asked with a smile.

"If I must prove my innocence to you, then so be it," Sigma replied, crossing her arms.

* * *

**Non-stop Debate**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Sigma's list**

**::l Bloody towel**

**::l Small Piece of plastic**

**::l Monokuma File No.2**

"I walked back to my room with two others late last night," Sigma stated.

"Do you want to give us their names?" Lin asked, frowning.

"I can't do that. We chose to keep that a secret" Sigma replied, sighing.

"Then you have no real alibi at all, do you?" Euri retorted.

"You could have killed Hibiki with the screwdriver and made this story up," Tsubasa said, pissed off.

"Just trust me when I say that I didn't kill him," Sigma said, hanging her head.

"Oh, please! **You don't have any proof** to say that you didn't!" Fuyu shouted, pounding her fist on her stand.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition Used: Sigma's list.**

* * *

"I think that everyone should calm down for the moment," Rin said, holding up his hands.

"Great. He's protecting the murderer, again," Tsubasa grumbled.

"First off, Lin isn't the killer. Secondly, I don't think that Sigma is, either," Rin shot back, annoyed at the painter's comment. "Look at the evidence titled 'Sigma's list'," Rin continued, flipping through his ID.

"So, what? It's just a bunch of weapons. If anything, it proves that she had access to a screwdriver," Makko said, shrugging.

"The thing is, Sigma gathered all of these items and put them into two boxes, only trusting myself and a few others with this knowledge," Rin replied, biting his lip.

"Let me guess. You aren't going to tell us who else, are you?" Euri asked halfheartedly.

"No. I'm sorry. I have to keep that a secret," Rin said, sighing.

"Fine, then, but what about one of your group using a screwdriver from their box?" Lin asked, trying to remain calm.

"Then, why put it back in the laboratory?" Rin replied with his own question.

"That's easy. It's because they didn't know of Sigma's plan," Mamoru said with a smile.

"So, that means that whoever knew isn't the killer?" Makko asked, scratching his head.

"The only problem is that we don't know who knows," Euri said, glaring at Sigma.

* * *

**Non-stop Debate**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Makko's testimony**

**::l Bloody towel**

**::l Screwdriver**

**::l Monokuma File No.2**

"I'm sorry, but I can't betray my friends' trust," Sigma sighed.

"Then, how about you start with what happened last night?" Annashia said meekly.

"Myself and two others went to the hall closet to gather the boxes, then went back to our rooms around 11:00," Sigma replied.

"So, these two can vouch for you but you can't give up their names?" Mamoru asked, puzzled.

"That is correct," Sigma said bluntly.

"I'm sorry, then. You have no alibi because **no one can confirm your story**," Makko said coldly.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition Used: Makko's testimony**

* * *

"Actually, I think that you, yourself, prove Sigma innocent, Makko," Rin said, turning to the fisherman.

"Wait. How did I do that?" Makko asked, confused.

"You said that you heard a loud scream at 10:30, correct?" Rin asked Makko who seemed clueless.

"Yeah. So, what about it? All it was was someone having a nightmare," Makko asked, a bit angry.

"I would like to also ask who else heard the scream," Rin said, looking around at everyone.

Slowly, everyone raised their hands to signify that they, themselves, had heard the scream.

"OK, so everyone heard the scream. What's so special about it and how does it prove Sigma's innocence?" Euri asked, annoyed.

_'I know this. It's on the tip of my tongue.'_

* * *

**Flashing Anagram**

**_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/**

**...**

**_/E/_/_/_/ S/C/_/_/_/_/**

**...**

**D/E/_/_/H/ S/C/_/_/_/M/**

**...**

**D/E/A/_/H/ S/C/R/_/A/M/**

**...**

**D/E/A/T/H/ S/C/R/E/A/M/**

_'It's all coming together!'_

* * *

"Are you gonna answer us or just stare into space some more?" Shiori asked, getting a bit riled up.

"It's actually quite simple. If everyone heard the scream, then who shouted?" Rin replied, letting a small smile cross his lips.

"Oh. Um... Well, that's easy. It's... Uh..." Fuyu said, stumbling over her words to find a answer.

"The only person who could have made it was Hibiki," Miyuki spoke up, frowning.

"Wait. If the victim had the nightmare, how did the killer get to him?" Noriyori asked, coughing a bit.

"That's because it wasn't a nightmare. It was his final breath," Rin said. A sullen expression came across his face.

Everyone stood there, shocked, trying to process the fact that, last night, they had all heard a scream of death.

"I'm sorry, but did you or the two you were with see Hibiki when you came back to your rooms?" Rin asked, staring at Sigma

"No. We didn't," Sigma said, quickly.

"Hold on, then. Where did the body go?" Mamoru quickly asked.

"I was kinda wondering that, myself," Annashia chimed in.

* * *

**Where was Hibiki's body put after he was killed?**

**:l The killer's room**

**:l _Hibiki's room_**

**:l The hall closet**

* * *

"I've got it!" Rin declared. "When Hibiki was killed, the killer could only go to one place, and that's Hibiki's own room," Rin said sternly.

"So, you're saying that, when the others and myself passed the rooms, we had to walk past the killer" Sigma asked, worried.

"It's the only logical place that I can think of, because with you coming back, they wouldn't have much time," Rin replied.

"Hold on. You don't have any real proof that the killer hid in Hibiki's room," Fuyu stammered.

"Yeah. If you're gonna prove something, you've gotta have evidence," Tsubasa said, backing up the animal tamer.

* * *

**Present Evidence!**

**1l: Monokuma File No. 2**

**2l: Cluster of arrows**

**3l: Small piece of plastic**

**4l: Large pool of blood**

**5l: Makko's testimony**

**6l: Missing blood packs**

**7l: _Bloody towel_**

**8l: Screwdriver**

**9l: Sigma's list**

**10l: Noriyori's report**

* * *

"Here it is! This towel that Miyuki and I found proves that Hibiki's body was in his room," Rin declared, holding up his ID.

"Wait. Where did you find that?" Annashia asked, confused.

"I found it in the girl's changing room," Miyuki said, speaking up.

"Oh. You found a towel in a changing room. Big whoop," Euri said sarcastically.

"No. You see, this towel is different from those in the changing rooms. It looks like it's from a bedroom," Noriyori said, taking a closer look at his ID.

"So, where do we go from here?" Ryou asked, a bit lost.

"Maybe we should start from when Sigma returned to her room," Annashia said with a smile.

* * *

**Non-Stop Debate**

**Ammunition:**

**::l Sigma's list**

**::l Large blood spot**

**::l Missing blood packs**

**::l Makko's testimony**

"OK. If I'm following this correctly, Sigma got back to her room around 11:00 PM," Makko said, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, and that was after the scream," Mamoru chimed in.

"She also returned with two unknown individuals," Lin said, frowning.

"Maybe she's lying about it," Tsubasa grumbled, shrugging.

"Why would I lie about something so simple?" Sigma replied coldly.

"She has a point, man," Shiro said, sighing.

"Still. **It might be Annashia of Miyuki**," Fuyu mumbled under her breath.

"You've got that wrong!" Rin declared.

**Ammunition Used: Lin's statement: unknown individuals**

* * *

"Fuyu, why would you think it's Annashia or Miyuki?" Rin asked hesitantly.

"Oh, it was just a random suggestion," Fuyu quickly replied.

"But, why? Neither of them have been accused yet," Rin said, frowning.

"It's just something that popped into my head, OK?" Fuyu said, getting angrier.

"Then, why not Euri or Shiori?" Rin asked, pressing forwards.

"Hey! Screw you, reporter!" Euri shot back.

"Look. Just lay off, OK? It was just a suggestion," Fuyu said, turning away from Rin's gaze.

"No. I know that there's something more to this," Rin said with certainty.

"Do not push this any further," Fuyu growled, glaring at Rin.

_'I'm sorry, Fuyu, but I have to,' _Rin thought, closing his eyes.

* * *

**Make an Accusation!**

**Hibiki Hayashi [DEAD]**

**Lin Tachibana**

**Rin Masko**

**Ryou Hayata**

**[Fuyu Kana]**

**Annashia Tachibana**

**Kagomi Mikaru [DEAD]**

**Euridice Lawson**

**Isamu Maki**

**Tsubasa Yukata**

**Miyuki Narukami**

**Sigma**

**Makko Watanabe**

**Shiori Kurosawa**

**Mamoru Akiyama**

**Noriyori Oshiro**

"It can only be you!" Rin declared.

* * *

"Fuyu, you're the killer, aren't you?" Rin said, trying to keep himself from turning away.

"What makes you say that?" Fuyu asked, becoming rather silent.

"You knew something that you shouldn't have. That's why it can only be you," Rin continued to press.

"Oh. Are you talking about my hunch?" Fuyu asked, a frown forming on her face.

"Yeah. I mean, it was only a hunch. It doesn't mean that she's the killer, Rin," Ryou said, worried.

"That's right. It was just a passing thought. Nothing more," Fuyu said, a bit louder than before.

"No. She could have said anyone, but she chose both Miyuki and Annashia, unknowingly making her the real suspect," Rin said, determined.

"How many times do I have to say it, you dog?! It was only a guess! A hunch! An idea!" Fuyu shouted, pounding her fists into her stand.

"Whoa! Fuyu! Calm down!" Makko said, frightened.

"No freaking way am I going to take this lying down like some wimp," Fuyu growled.

_'She's the killer. I know it. I just need her to give me the final nail in her coffin.'_

* * *

**Panic Talk Action**

**[+] [+] [+] FUYU [+] [+] [+]**

**== Shield x6! [6 Remaining]**

**[+] [+] [+] **"You think your the big man for accusing me, don't you?!"** [+] [+] (([+]))**

**== Shield Break! [5 Remaining]**

**(([+])) [+] [+]** "You're like a house cat going against a tiger, here!" **[+] [+] [=/=]**

**== Shield Break! [4 Remaining]**

**TEMPO UP!**

**[=/=] [+] [+]** "Back down already, will ya?!" **[+] (([+])) [=/=]**

**== Shield Break! [3 Remaining]**

**[=/=] (([+])) [+] **"If you wanna continue, my fists could do the talking!" **[+] [=/=] [=/=]**

**Shield Break! [2 Remaining]**

**[=/=] [=/=] [+]** "I've wrestled lions! You're nothing!" **(([+])) [=/=] [=/=]**

**Shield Break! [1 Remaining]**

**[=/=] [=/=] (([+])) **"You're just grasping at straws!" **[=/=] [=/=] [=/=]**

**Shield Break! [0 Remaining]**

**[=/=] [=/=] [=/=] **"The reason that I said Miyuki and Annashia was because I heard them come back late with Sigma!" **[=/=] [=/=] [=/=]**

**FIRE THE KILL SHOT!**

**The! Room! Layout!**

* * *

"Let's end this!" Rin shouted. "Fuyu, how on earth did you hear, not only Sigma, but Annashia and Miyuki, as well?" Rin asked, already knowing the answer.

"I heard them talking when they came back to their rooms," Fuyu snapped back.

"Sigma, I can understand because she's right next to you, but both Miyuki and are five rooms down from you," Rin shouted back.

"Gah... I... Uh... But... Um..." Fuyu stammered, caught off guard.

"The only way that you could have heard them was if you were close, and the only room that could have been used was Hibiki's," Rin continued, determined.

"There was... Uh... No... I can't..." Fuyu continued to trip over her words, trying to defend herself.

"Unless you have a different answer, you are the killer, Fuyu," Rin said, closing his eyes.

Fuyu remained quiet, her eyes fixated on the ground, her fists clenched with rage.

"Fine, then. I will explain this case in its entirety, then," Rin said, turning away from the animal tamer.

* * *

**Climax Return!**

**:==: Part 1 :==:**

"We will start from the beginning when Sigma gathered five others, including me, at the cafeteria only ten minutes before the night time announcement. There, Sigma revealed her plan that she had gathered all of the dangerous and possible weapons and split them into two boxes. From there, she asked that two people from the group accompany her to her hiding spot to gather the boxes and the rest of us went back to our rooms."

**:==: Part 2 :==:**

"When the three of us got back, we all retired to our rooms. All but one. Hibiki stayed out in front of his door, waiting for Sigma and the others to return, making sure that they were safe. At that moment, the killer took the time to strike, running down the hallway and plunging a screwdriver into his back, and in return, Hibiki let out a loud scream which we all thought was someone having a nightmare. Soon after, the killer hid in Hibiki's room, unable to return to their's in time because Sigma and the others were returning."

**:==: Part 3 :==:**

"While in the room, the killer cleaned themselves with a towel from ithe room and then overheard a small conversation from the trio outside. After the group, retired to their rooms, the killer quickly thought of a plan and rushed to the nurse's office, taking two blood packs from the small fridge and then going over to the hall closet. There, the killer opened a blood pack, making the first of two fake crime scenes, and then ran to the second floor stairs with the body in tow."

**:==: Part 4 :==:**

"Unable to gain access to the second floor until the day time announcement, the killer waited and, when the time finally came, quickly rushed to the dojo. From there, the killer rolled out a few of the practice mats and, short on time, tore open the second blood pack, causing a small piece of plastic to tear off, flying behind a rack of wooden swords. The killer the took the body, stabbing it with multiple arrows, disguising the wounds which were made by the screwdriver."

**:==: Part 5 :==:**

"After disposing of the the body, the killer rushed over to the laboratory, placing the screwdriver back into its normal space, thinking that no one would give it a second thought, but what they hadn't planned on was Sigma's plan making the screwdriver very conspicuous. Then, they went over to the changing rooms and stashed the bloody towel. After finishing the scenes, the killer quickly, yet calmly, entered the cafeteria, acting as if nothing was wrong."

* * *

"That's everything that happened, isn't that right, Fuyu?" Rin declared.

"Fuyu why did you do it?" Mamoru asked concerned.

"We all had the same motive, but everyone else stuck it out," Tsubasa stated.

"You think that your nightmares are the same as mine, don't you?" Fuyu said in a small voice. "Have you ever had a wild animal kill your parents and then tear into your flesh?!" she started to shout.

Everyone stood there, silent, trying not to make eye contact with the angry girl.

"Heh. That's what I thought. Now, imagine that it happens every time you close your eyes and having it feel so real," Fuyu said, starting to giggle.

"But, why Hibiki?! He was the nicest, most thoughtful person here! Why did you go and kill him?!" Rin yelled, tears starting to form.

"I could have picked anyone, I guess, but I needed it to end, and he was just standing there, almost asking for it," Fuyu said with a smile.

Rage was building up in Rin like nothing that he'd ever felt before until he had to shout. "Monokuma!"

"Gah! I'm awake! I swear" the bear said, startled.

"We have decided on who to vote for," Rin said, much quieter.

"OK, then. I guess that there's no need to repeat the instructions, so go ahead," Monokuma said, shrugging.

Rin looked down at his ID, finding that it showed the portraits of everyone again, and he silently pressed the picture of Fuyu, having it grey out like last time. Again, the giant TV came down with the same slot machine on the screen, but as it spun, it slowly stopped on Fuyu, flashing 'JACKPOT' again.

"Well, it looks like you were right once again. You don't know how happy this makes me feel," Monokuma said, hugging his stomach with a blissful smile on his face.

"L-let's just get this over with," Ryou stammered.

"Sure, but does the culprit have any last words?" Monokuma said, turning to face Fuyu.

"Perhaps this is what I truly deserve," she said with a smile, clasping her hands together.

"Alrighty, then. Let's give it everything we got. IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monokuma shouted with glee.

* * *

**GAME OVER**

**FUYU KANA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

**COMMENCING EXECUTION**

Fuyu found herself in a deep jungle next to Monokuma who was holding a small stick. Suddenly, Monkuma snapped the twig in half, making a loud 'crack', and then ran off. Soon, Fuyu could hear large, pounding footsteps getting closer by the second until a large group of animals came bursting through the trees, making Fuyu run away.

**THE GREAT ANIMAL KINGDOM**

As she ran, Fuyu could see more and more animals joining the stampede, quickly gaining on her until she spied a very large cliff face and ran towards it. As she climbed the rock face, she could she that all of the animals had gathered around the cliff as if they were waiting for something, but as she got to the top, Fuyu saw a cave and dashed inside, but quickly ran again, being chased by two lions and their cub with a baboon holding a large stick close behind them. As she ran, Fuyu stopped at the edge and looked down, seeing all of the animals underneath, and then turned to face the group who was chasing her. Fuyu slowly stepped back until she couldn't feel any more ground and held up her hands in a sign of peace, but the small lion cub knocked her off, plummeting down and landing on the ground, having the awaiting animals swarm her until there were only torn-up clothes.

* * *

Everyone stared blankly at the screen in either fear or confusion—maybe a bit of both—until Monokuma spoke up.

"Man, that one was fun, but now everyone's gotta make like a banana and split," Monokuma said, dancing a bit.

Everyone quickly piled into the elevator which had just arrived, none of them wanting to discuss what had just happened, and they soon arrived at the gymnasium, filing out one by one.

"Um... If anyone would me to, I can put on a kettle for some tea," Annashia said wearily.

"Actually, I think that Sigma needs to explain something," Ryou grumbled, turning to face the tactician.

"I will still not tell you the names of those in my group," Sigma said, bluntly.

"No. That's fine. We know all but one. Rin made that clear," Tsubasa replied, smirking.

Sigma glared at Rin who tried his best not to be noticed by her death glare.

"Don't give him that look. We just want to ask that you don't just shut us out," Mamoru said with a smile.

"Yeah. Stop being such an ice queen, will ya?" Makko said with a grin.

"OK. Maybe you can cut some of us out," Lin mumbled.

Everyone slowly started to laugh at Lin's comment until the monitor flickered on, bringing them back to reality.

"It's now 10 PM. The cafeteria and other areas will be closing soon, so return to your rooms and have pleasant dreams." With that, it switched off.

"I guess that we should head back to our rooms," Noriyori said quietly with a small cough.

The group walked back in silence, trying to remain calm and, as Rin entered his room, he realised that he hadn't slept for an entire day and quickly collapsed on his bed.

**A/N: What is this? A chapter so soon? We found out the killer. Wow. So, this one went by super fast. I even surprised myself with this, but now that everything has been laid to rest, we get to have extra free time with Fuyu and Hibiki (yay!) and from now on I will be trying to make the trials 3 parts or more and include more evidence so I don't back myself into a corner, also please leave a review on what you thought of this chapter or PM me if you want to keep your thoughts just between us.**

**Sincerely****,**

**Rinjai.**


	17. Extra Free Time 2

Fuyu slowly opened her eyes and carefully lifted herself from the desk and chair that she had apparently been sleeping on only moments prior.

"Great. Where the hell am I, now?" Fuyu asked herself, trying to shake away her massive headache.

"You just answered your own question there, sister," a girl's voice called from behind her.

Fuyu quickly turned around and saw a small girl in a red hoodie who was sitting on top of a desk with a cat-like grin on her face.

"Oh, come on. Don't scare her like that," a familiar voice called out, pleading with the girl.

"Really, Hibiki? I mean, she did kill you. I thought that you would at least want to mess with her a little," the girl said, turning to face the now-present hairdresser.

"Wait. I remember you. Kagomi, right?" Fuyu said, still a bit confused.

"Hey. She's good at this," Kagomi replied with a small laugh.

"I'm here, as well" Isamu called, over waving from a desk.

"Where is this place, exactly?" Fuyu asked.

"Well, from what we can gather so far, it's like some kind of purgatory that we go to after we die in this school," Isamu said, gesturing around the room.

"Ok, but why does it look like a classroom?" Fuyu asked, looking up and down at the rows of desks.

"That, we don't know," Hibiki sighed.

"Mind you, every time someone dies, a large TV comes down and we get to see the trials and investigations," Kagomi piped up, giggling a bit.

"O-oh. So, you saw all that?" Fuyu replied, looking away sheepishly.

"Hey. I thought it was fun. Watching Rin in action was kinda cool," Hibiki said with a smile.

"Hibiki, I want you to know that I'm really sorry about what happened," Fuyu said, sighing.

"It's OK. I forgive you," Hibiki replied, putting his hand on the tamer's shoulder.

"So... Uh... What do we do, here?" Fuyu asked, looking around.

"Oh, yeah. It's story time," Kagomi said, giggling.

"Wait. What story?" Fuyu asked, confused.

"You just talk about your life and whatnot," Isamu replied, shrugging.

"I don't know. It feels kinda weird," Fuyu said, fidgeting a bit.

"Just pretend that you're talking to Rin," Hibiki said with a smile.

"Why would I ever talk to that weirdo?" Fuyu said with a puzzled look.

"Fine, then. I can start, instead. I did it already once," Hibiki replied, taking a seat.

* * *

**==Free Time==**

**-Hibiki-**

**:==: Rec Room**

As Rin walked down the hallway, he could feel his body growing more and more sluggish, his feet starting to drag. Thinking that it might not be the best idea to return to his bedroom, he walked into the rec room, spying Hibiki sitting in a chair, reading a magazine.

"Hey there, Hibiki. Whatcha reading?" Rin asked, catching the hairdresser's attention.

"Oh. Good afternoon, Rin. I was just looking through this old hair magazine," Hibiki replied, holding up the cover for Rin to see.

"Mind if I join you? I need someone to help to keep me awake," Rin said with a weak smile.

"Sure. The company would be lovely," Hibiki said, gesturing towards an open chair.

"By the way, Rin, I wanted to ask if you have any siblings," Hibiki stated with a peaceful look in his eyes.

Hibiki and Rin chatted for a bit.

"So, ever since you were old enough, you lived on your own?" Hibiki said, a bit surprised.

"Yeah. Ever since that incident, I never really settled down and had a place to call my own," Rin replied, his eyes showing his distance.

"I'm sorry if I brought up some painful memories for you," Hibiki said, obviously concerned.

"No, no. It's fine. Besides, I wanted to talk more about your brother," Rin replied, trying to distract himself.

"Well, there's not much to say that I haven't told you already," Hibiki sighed.

"Well, you became the Ultimate Hairdresser. How did he take that?" Rin asked, curious.

"Well, to start, I got my title from just messing around at a salon that one of my friends lived near. Most of the time, I would sit in the back and watch the employee's work or play games with them when I had the chance and they taught me a bit about haircare. So, I guess that, when they finally asked me if I wanted to help out, I was just a natural at it from the beginning," Hibiki replied smiling.

"So, when I got home to my house and told him, to be honest, my brother wasn't entirely happy with it, mostly because he always tried his best to be the one who took care of me and was probably a bit ashamed that I got a job before him," Hibiki continued.

"Jeez. I'm sorry," Rin sighed, scratching the side of his head.

"Oh, there's no need to be. Personally, I loved that my brother was so concerned for me. It showed that he cared for me, even if that side didn't come out often," Hibiki replied, giving a small giggle.

"So, you started working there, but how did you become known as the Ultimate Hairdresser?" Rin asked.

"Well, I worked with a few select celebrities once and I guess that word spread that I was the one behind it. Plus, how many other high schoolers do you know that have that profession?" Hibiki said with a big smile.

"I guess that you've got a point there," Rin said, laughing a bit.

"You know Rin, I think that Hibiki reminds me of my brother on the outside, but you're a lot like him on the inside," Hibiki said, relaxing and closing his eyes.

"Hey. Don't fall asleep on me. You're the one who's supposed to keep me awake, remember?" Rin said, shaking his friend's leg.

"O-oh. You're right. Sorry about that," Hibiki chuckled, his eyes opening halfway.

Rin thought that he was beginning to understand Hibiki a little more.

* * *

"So, that's the end of my story. What do you guys think?" Hibiki asked the trio who were sitting in front of him.

Fuyu looked rather uncomfortable while the other two looked like they were on the verge of tears, Kagomi especially.

"T-thats so sad, and you had to leave your brother, as well. Y-you're going to make me start to cry," Kagomi sobbed.

"Um... Fuyu... Do you want to tell us your story, now?" Isamu asked, a bit worried.

"R-right," Fuyu replied quickly.

* * *

**==Free Time==**

**-Fuyu-**

**:==: Pool**

Rin wandered into pool area, thinking that maybe a workout would keep him energised. When he exited the changing room, he saw Fuyu dressed in a black one-piece swimsuit, climbing out of the pool, her long black hair sticking to her body, completely soaked. Rin gave a small gulp, but quickly shook his head and walked over to the beast tamer.

"Hi, Fuyu. Are you getting in a good workout?" Rin called over at the girl, catching her attention.

"Oh. Hey, Rin. Yeah. I thought that I could at least do something to keep my mind off of everything," Fuyu replied, giving a small sigh.

"Mind if I join you, then?" Rin asked, giving a small smile.

Fuyu looked back at Rin with a blatant look of disgust. Then, it occurred to Rin that what he had just said might entail something of THAT nature and he quickly raised his hands in apology.

"Whoa... I... Uh... Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I truly just want to swim," Rin said, a bit ashamed.

"Fine, then. Eight laps, but that's all," Fuyu grumbled, diving into the pool with Rin following soon after.

Fuyu and Rin swam in the pool for awhile.

Rin slowly heaved himself out of the pool, gasping and out of breath while Fuyu calmly climbed out and grabbed two towels, handing one to Rin who grabbed it and quickly wrapped it around his waist.

"Jeez. How do you keep going at that pace? I mean, you already were swimming when I got here and you're still standing," Rin panted, sitting down in a beach chair.

"I don't know. I guess that training with animals just helped to build up my stamina," Fuyu replied with a shrug, taking her own seat.

"I wanted to ask about that. How did a girl like you become a animal tamer in the first place?" Rin asked, confused.

"What are you saying?! That a girl can't do a guy's job?! Huh?!" Fuyu shouted back at the reporter, her temper getting the better of her.

"No. I'm not saying that at all. I'm just wondering why you took that kinda work. I mean, with your looks, you could have been the Ultimate Model if you wanted," Rin replied hastily, trying not to anger the girl any further.

"Oh. That. Well, I grew up around animals. You see, my parents were zookeepers in a zoo that kept exotic animals, so I had access to a lot of interesting ones," Fuyu said, relaxing a bit.

"When I was rather young, I wandered around with my parents at the zoo and, one day, a panda was fighting other tamers who were trying to check up on her cubs and my father tried to calm her down, but to no success, and when some others tried use tranquilizers, my parents started to argue with them and my dad accidentally left the cage door open and I snuck in, just wanting to see the big teddy bear," Fuyu continued, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Wow. That sounds dangerous just to walk into the literal den of the beast," Rin said, giving a low whistle.

"Hey. I was, like, seven at the time. Cut me some slack," Fuyu grumbled.

"So, when I got in, I could see that the mother was in distress, but not only that, but her cub didn't look too good, so when I got a bit closer, she gave out a large growl, catching my parents' attention, and to say the least, they freaked out, but they couldn't get closer because they were scared that the panda would lash out and hurt me. When I got a bit closer, I saw how panicked the mother was and the first thing that came to mind was to sing the song that my mom sang when I was scared," the tamer said, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Wait. You can sing?" Rin asked, giving a inquisitive look.

Fuyu looked at Rin with a cold and menacing glare that chilled him to the bones, almost making fall from his chair, but Fuyu soon relaxed, sighing a bit.

"Yes. I can sing, but that's besides the point. After I started to sing, the panda really started to calm down and my parents not only got me out of there, but were able to treat the sick cub," Fuyu said with a small smile.

"So, I guess that, since then, I always tried my best to bond with animals, big or small," Fuyu continued with a small hint of melancholy in her tone.

She might have had a hard outer shell, but Rin fell like he understood Fuyu a little better.

* * *

"W-wow... That was really touching, Fuyu," Isamu stammered.

"So, can you sing for us, then?" Kagomi asked, a small twinkle in her eyes.

"Nope. Not gonna happen," Fuyu replied bluntly.

"Not even a tiny tune?" Hibiki chimed in with a smile.

"Doubt it," Fuyu continued with her stubborn tone.

"Fine, then. We will play a different game," Kagomi sighed, clasping her hands tighter.

"Like what, exactly?" Isamu questioned, a bit apprehensive.

"Poker, obviously," Kagomi said with a cat-like grin, holding up a deck of cards.

"Wh- But, how did you -?" Fuyu asked, a bit stunned.

"I found them when Hibiki dropped in," Kagomi replied, shuffling the deck.

"Well, let's play thief. Deal?" Hibiki said, a rather sinister grin forming.

**A/N: Well, I finally finished this chapter. It was rather hard because, unlike everyone else, Fuyu didn't come with a forum, so I had to make her backstory on the fly, but anyways...**

**Next, it's time to explore, and the rooms this time are: library, play theatre, chemistry lab and a garden. So, if you have any questions or want to share your thoughts on the story, leave a review, or if you want to chat to me directly, send me a PM. I always love hearing what everyone has to say.**


	18. Explore 3

"Good morning. It's now 7 AM and time get on with the day." The morning announcement played, rousing Rin from his deep sleep.

As Rin propped himself upright he could feel the other day weighing on him heavily. From the discovery of his friend's body to the execution Fuyu, it all felt like it was going to crush him under the weight of despair, but Rin slowly got ready for the day and headed out of his room.

"Morning Hib-" Rin was about repeat himself like had done in the past until he stopped himself, realizing that he was talking to a closed door.

"That's right. You were taken from me... just like my parents..." Rin muttered under his breath, clenching his fist, trying his hardest not to cry.

"Um... Rin, are you OK?" a small, worried voice called over to him from the end of the hall.

Rin looked over at Miyuki who was standing in front of her door, clutching the end of her sleeve rather tightly. As Rin walked over to the girl, he could see large, dark circles under her eyes and her hair was messy. Rin worried that something had happened and bit his lower lip.

"I-I'm fine, but what about you? It looks as though you didn't get a wink of sleep," Rin stammered.

"Last night, I was trying to come up with a plan to escape, not to much success, mind you," Miyuki replied, yawning a bit.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure that we'll find a way out, eventually," Rin said, trying to force a smile, but he knew in the back of his mind that it probably wasn't true.

"We... uh... should probably head to the cafeteria. We don't want to let anyone worry about us," Miyuki mumbled, starting to walk off with Rin close behind.

**:==: Cafeteria**

As Rin and Miyuki walked in, they saw everyone else sitting around the large table, all silent, some holding plates of half-eaten food, and others with crestfallen looks. Although she seemed to be as stern as ever, even Sigma seemed to have lost some of her distant demeanor, but when she noticed the pair step in, she gave a small cough to alert the others.

"Ah. There you two are. I believe that we need to discuss what our plans are for today," Sigma stated, her arms crossed.

"Good morning to you as well, Sigma. No, I had a good sleep, thanks for asking." Rin sighed at the girl's brazen speech and took a seat.

"I just feel that we need to explore the new floor that opened up," Sigma replied, Rin's comments not seeming to faze her while she and Miyuki both sat down.

"W-wait, what do you mean new floor?" Makko stuttered, obviously not fully awake.

"She means that, like last time, a new floor probably has opened up," Noriyori spoke up, relaxing in his seat with a cup of tea.

"You're really going to going to take psychotic teddy at his word? I thought that you were some kind of genius," Tsubasa scoffed.

"Actually, I went up to the second floor this morning and saw that the gate that blocked off the stairway had been removed," Annashia said meekly.

"Really, now? What were you doing up there so early in the morning," Euri asked curious.

"N-nothing important, really. I just wanted to take a morning swim," Annaisha replied hastily.

Euri was still curious, but she didn't press the matter and leaned back into her chair in a huff while Annashia tried to calm herself. After everyone had finished the food that they had, Sigma stood up, her demeanor softening.

"As I stated earlier, I believe that it would be wise to search the new floor," Sigma stated, looking across the table.

"Ah, the ever-stoic general, giving out her orders, yet again," Euri said, not hiding her sarcasm.

"Well, she does have a point, Euri. It's probably best if we do check it out," Shiori said, taking a sip of water.

"Fine. We can split into pairs like last time, that is, if everyone is OK with that," Lin said, calmly standing up.

Everyone nodded in agreement and soon paired up, leaving Miyuki and Rin with each other to explore yet again.

"So, shall we, Miyuki?" Rin asked, catching the young girl's attention.

"Oh... Uh, sure. Sorry, Rin. I'm just spacy today," Miyuki replied with a exhausted shigh.

**:==: 3rd floor**

As the pair ascended to the now-open third floor they could see their friends walk into other rooms until Lin came out of one with two large oak doors and waved at them.

"Miyuki, Rin, could you check this room out for a second?" Lin asked, giving them no time to respond before ducking back into the room.

"I guess that it's better than just randomly looking around," Rin said, walking towards the room with sigh.

"I wonder what's got her so interested," Miyuki said quietly, close behind Rin.

**:==: Library**

When Rin walked in, he was instantly taken aback by the rows upon rows of bookshelves. All the books seemed to be delicately placed with precision and the utmost care. From what Rin could see, even the back walls were made into shelves which were also lined with books, and he saw Lin and Makko scanning the rows.

"W-wow. So, I guess I'll hat this is the library of this place. It seems like you could find anything that you wanted in here." Rin let out a small whistle which caught Makko's attention.

"Oh. Hey, you two. What brings you here?" Makko said, walking over to the pair with a smile.

"Um... Lin asked us to come in. I don't really know why, though," Rin replied, scratching his head.

"There are a lot of books—too much for two people," Lin called back, not even turning around to face them.

"Y-yeah. She has a good point. Besides, I bet that Miyuki will have this done in a flash." Makko gave a small laugh.

Both of the young men looked at Miyuki who had been oddly quiet ever since entering the room, and as she stood perfectly still, Rin got a bit worried.

"Um... Miyuki, are you still with us?" Rin asked, waving a hand in front of the girl's face.

"I-it's beautiful... So many unread books..." Miyuki said, letting out a small gasp.

"Oh. I guess that's to be expected from the ultimate librarian," Rin said, letting out a sigh of relief.

As the small group looked through the seemingly-endless numbers of books, Rin could tell that they were not making much headway, whether it was from Miyuki stopping to read books that she pulled out or Lin looking over ones that she had already taken out. He could tell that they needed to call it a day.

"Guys, I don't think that we're going to find anything useful today, so let's call it a day and head back to the cafeteria to meet up with the others," Rin called out, placing another stack of books next to the other piles.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Makko sighed, sitting down, his head resting against a wall.

"I'll see you there, then," Lin said abruptly and walked out the door.

"Jeez. I swear that she's, like, half-robot or something," Makko groaned heading after the hunter.

Rin was about to head out until he noticed Miyuki, whose face was still buried in a binder of some sort, and walked over to the girl, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Miyuki, it's time to go OK?" Rin said, just wanting to leave.

"Rin, do you remember that scrap of newspaper paper that we found in the lab a few days ago?" the librarian asked, not pulling away from the folder.

"Oh... Uh... The one about that school fire?" Rin replied, sitting down next to the girl.

"Yeah. So, I tried to find something related to it here—something like the full newspaper—but all I could find was this." Miyuki turned, handing the binder that she was reading to Rin.

Rin looked through the folder and not much about it stood out. It was just a simple binder with laminated newspaper clippings, but what was odd was that all of the dates had been torn out. Most of them were crime news about murders and other such events, but when he came to the final few pages, he stopped. There was a smaller clipping that seemed even more worn and tattered than the rest, but Rin knew what it was.

_'School Fire—Accident or Planned?'_

_'The fire at Ibathoci Middle School that took twenty-five lives last month has shaken the small town to the core, but upon further investigation, it was revealed that some sort of ignition method had set fire in a different part of the building and an accelerant trail led it to the chemistry lab which then caught fire, igniting the the chemicals within the room. It is still unknown who started the fire, but police suspect that it was a teacher who had been fired the day before.'_

Rin stared at the article, unable to process the fact that what he was reading was actually true. A teacher setting a fire to a school and killing twenty-five innocents just because he had gotten fired... His body shook with rage as he clenched the sides of the folder so hard that his knuckles started to turn white. Rin felt as if he could tear the binder in half with sheer rage, but jumped a bit as Miyuki placed her hand on his shoulder delicately.

"Rin, I think that we should go, now," Miyuki said in a quiet tone.

"Y-yeah. You're right," Rin replied, shutting the binder rather forcefully before standing up.

After dusting himself off and placing the binder on top of a stack of books he started to walk towards the twin doors uni l he noticed that Miyuki was still standing in the same spot. With a sigh, Rin went back to check on the librarian.

"H-hey, Miyuki, are you OK?" Rin asked worriedly.

"Sorry, Rin. I was just lost in thought," Miyuki replied in a quiet tone.

"Oh. Can I ask about what?" Rin questioned, a bit relieved that it wasn't something more serious.

"Well, it's mainly all these books. Being the Ultimate Librarian, I know a lot of published books, but some of these I've never even heard of," Miyuki said, furrowing her brow in thought.

"Well, some could just be from unknown authors," Rin said, shrugging.

Miyuki picked up a book with a blue cover, handing it to Rin.

"'My Heartache, My Job and the Loss of my Limbs'?" Rin read out loud, confused.

"Yes. It's by Naru Suka, and she is a world famous romance author," Miyuki said in a huff.

"So, what has that got to do with anything?" Rin asked, still very confused.

"Look at the dedications, Rin," Miyuki said, a bit worried.

"To my husband Sato and my little girl Suki. Nothing too strange, Miyuki. It's just dedicated to her family," Rin said, shrugging.

"She is only nineteen, Rin," Miyuki deadpanned.

"W-wait, what?" Rin asked, now even more confused.

"Her last book came out when she was nineteen, and that was only two months before I joined hope's peak," Miyuki replied, taking the book back.

Rin stood there, stunned. What was he supposed to think? Did Miyuki make it up or was she telling him the truth? There was no reason to lie, but if that was the case, what was with the book.

"I-I'm so lost right now," Rin said, flustered.

"I don't really know what it means, myself, but I'm sure that there's a mystery, here," Miyuki said with a small glint in her eyes.

"We... uh... should probably get to the cafeteria and the others..." Rin said, his head still a bit rattled.

"Yeah, you're right," Miyuki said with a sigh, placing the book back down again.

**:==: 1st floor**

**:==: Cafeteria**

As the pair entered the room, they saw almost everyone sitting down except Annaisha who was pacing the room, anxiously. Sigma turned, spotting the reporter and librarian, her arms crossed and a large frown on her face.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Sigma said crossly as everyone turned to face them.

"Oh, Miyuki. I'm so glad that you're safe," Annaisha said happily, running over giving the small girl a hug.

"We just lost track of time in the library," Miyuki replied with a small smile.

Rin looked at the girl bewildered. He understood why she didn't say anything about the fire, but why did she keep the information about the author a secret and from Sigma of all people? None of this was making sense.

"Fine, but next time, when I set a meeting time, I expect you to keep it," Sigma said, crossing her arms.

"Yes, I assure you that it won't happen again," Miyuki said calmly, taking a seat with Annashia next to her.

"Rin?" Sigma said, snapping the reporter out of his trance.

"R-right. Sorry. Won't happen again," Rin replied hastily, taking a seat between Makko and Ryou.

"So, let's go over what we found today," Sigma stated, turning back to the group.

"Tsubasa and I found a rather large garden. There were lots of plants and fruit," Shiori said happily.

"Yeah, and the doofus wanted to try some of them," Tsubasa scoffed, leaning back in his chair.

"I would have if have if Monokuma didn't pop and say that they might be poisonous," Shiori pouted.

"Anyway, Lin and I found a huge library," Makko said, stopping Shiro from continuing.

"There were lots of books," Lin said before closing her eyes.

"Uh... Yeah. Then, Miyuki and I came in to help them search," Rin said, still a bit flustered.

"I see. Anything interesting?" Sigma asked, looking directly at Miyuki.

"Well, it has a great selection from every genre," Miyuki said with a pleasant smile.

"Well, Noriyori and I found a chemistry lab of sorts. I could tell by the smell of all the chemicals," Mamoru said, wrinkling up his nose.

"Yes, and then you and Annashia came in, Sigma," Noriyori chimed in, taking a sip of water.

"Correct. When Annaisha and I finished assessing the room, I had her take record of all the chemicals," Sigma responded, giving a small nod.

"Yep, it's all here in my notebook," Annashia chimed in, holding up a small brown book.

"Well, I guess that leaves me and knife boy here for last," Euri said with a small grunt.

"Y-yeah. All we found was a large theater," Ryou replied, obviously lost in thought.

"Oooh. You mean like movies and popcorn?" Shiori said excitedly.

"No. It's more like the 'plays and actors' type of theater" Euri said with a dejected sigh.

After concluding that the rest of the rooms were just more classrooms, everyone decided to spend time together until the nighttime announcement blared through the school. As everyone retired to their rooms, Rin decided to take a quick shower before going to sleep.

_Why didn't Miyuki tell everyone about the author, and what was with that, anyway? How did a nineteen year old have a husband and a kid when she was a famous author and no one knew about it? Then, there was the fire. What did it mean and why did it all feel so familiar? _All of these thoughts ran through Rin's head as the hot water ran down his body.

When Rin finished and was about to lie down, he heard a small knock at the door and he slowly opened it, seeing Miyuki holding a large box.

"Your turn," Miyuki said with a small yawn, thrusting the box forwards a little.

"Oh. Right." Rin reluctantly took the book which was a lot heavier than it appeared to be.

"Hey... Uh... Miyuki, can I ask you about something?" Rin asked the sleepy girl.

"I can talk in the morning," Miyuki said with a yawn.

"But, I just wanted to ask about -" Rin was about to ask before Miyuki looked up at him with the eyes of a hunter.

"Like I said, I will talk to you in the morning, Rin," Miyuki said before turning around and walking away.

Rin stood there with the box of weapons in his hands, wondering what had just happened, but he quickly went back inside, closing the door. He placed the box down and laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling, slowly closing his eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Rin muttered to himself before falling asleep.

* * *

**Oh snap new chapter! That's right I'm back, stronger, faster and no extra experience. I'm so sorry for wait on this but I just didn't like the way it felt over and over again but it is finally done and new mysteries are abound. How many years has passed by since the group was in hope's peak! What happened at that school that caught fire! What is Miyuki's plan! Find out next time in DANGAN RONPA, LET THE DESPAIR TIMES ROLL!.**

**So let me say thank you again for putting up with the wait. I know it wasn't my best move to put it off so long and probably is going to cost me in future but anyways next up is everyone's favorite time, Free time events but this time there is a twist. I am going to have three free times starting from now on and the top three will be picked. So I'm upping the vote by one to make it fair and even, so the same rules still apply. Spread out your votes, make sure if you have more then one character that you give others a fair shot. But that's about it. Oh I almost forgot, I am redoing the introduction chapter to give everyone a more detailed look so be sure to check that out.**

**Thanks for waiting and as always, feel free to tell me what you thought of this chapter or the entire story so far in a review or send me a PM if you want to keep it private.**

**Sincerely**

**Rinjai. **


	19. Free time 5

"Good morning, everyone! It's now 7:00 AM! It's time to rise and shine," the monitor blared, quickly shutting off after its announcement.

Rin yawned, stirring from his deep sleep and lazily stood up from his bed. _Why is this becoming normal for me? How can I be so used to this by now? _Rin thought as he went through his morning routine of getting washed and dressed for the day ahead.

"Maybe this place is finally wearing me down," Rin sighed to himself as he made his way to the cafeteria.

:==: Cafeteria

Rin stepped through the double doors, seeing the usual faces of Annaisha, Sigma, Mamoru and Noriyori, but no one else seemed to be there. With a sigh, he took a seat across from the mathematician who was engrossed in a book, but quickly shut it and smiled, looking at Rin.

"Good morning, Rin. Slept well, I hope," Mamoru said with a peaceful smile.

"Wha…? How did you know you know it was me?" the reporter asked, confused.

"Hehe. You let out a small sigh when you sat down. You tend to do that in the morning," Mamoru said with a small chuckle, setting his book down on the table.

Rin shook his head. No matter how many times it happened, he was always surprised by Mamoru power of sight, what with his lack of vision. Mamoru quietly went back to reading his book, or rather scanning it with his hands, so Rin assumed that it must be in braille, and from the size of the book, it must have taken some time to make.

"Hey, Mamoru, where is everyone?" Rin asked, still wondering where everyone was.

"They must still be looking around the newest floor for a way out," Mamoru replied, not looking away from his book.

"You're not interested in finding the exit, Mamoru?" Rin asked again.

"Oh, I'm sure I could find something if I looked hard enough." The mathematician chuckled.

It always seemed that Mamoru joked about his blindness, never really calling in a hindrance or using it to get out of situations. Rin sighed, not really understanding how he could keep such a carefree attitude in the present situation, but he guessed that this was the way he dealt with it. Slowly getting up, Rin made his way to kitchen, grabbing a small bite to eat before heading back into the school, hoping to relax a bit.

== Free Time==

-Euri-

:==: Garden

As Rin stepped inside the large oval room, he was met with he was met with a scent that was strange to him; something that he never thought he would smell again. Fresh grass. The room was laid out like a park, with brick paths winding around mounds of earth, some filled with exotic flowers and trees while others were just hills of grass and plotted land that looked as if it had been tilled for farming. At the far back, Rin could make out a small shed and he assumed that that was where all the tools and equipment were kept. While Rin walked around, he noticed Euri sitting under a large oak tree, reading a book with a peaceful expression.

"Hello, Euri. Enjoying the book?" Rin called over to the activist, catching her attention.

The girl looked up from her book with a groan, looking pissed off, but she relaxed after seeing that it was the reporter. Setting the book down, she waved and stood up, dusting herself off, and walked over to the reporter, blades of grass caught in her purple scarf.

"So, Rin, what brings you here?" Euri asked as she picked the grass off of her scarf.

"Well, mostly just wandering around and looking at the new areas. What about yourself?" Rin replied with a smile.

"Reading some trashy novel. Mind if I join you instead?" Euri said, clearly in a huff.

"Really? You seemed to enjoy the book, from what I saw," Rin said, giving a small chuckle.

"Start walking, reporter," Euri groaned as she started down a path.

Rin walked with Euri around the garden for a few hours.

The pair sat on the grass where Euri was earlier, looking up at the painted sky through the leaves of the large oak, the lights that provided artificial sun shining down across their faces and warming the grass under them as they sat in peaceful silence.

"Can I ask you something, Euri?" Rin said, breaking the calm.

"Great. More questions. Kill me now," the girl groaned, throwing her head down on the grass.

"I just wanted to know why you became an activist instead of a lawyer," Rin said, looking down at Euri.

"People need someone who can fight for them," Euri said quietly.

"That's it?" Rin asked, confused, expecting a bit more.

"What do you mean, 'That's it'? Of course that's it, you jerk! It's not like I need a deep reason to help others," Euri said, shooting back up from the grass, her hair whipping around.

"No, it's a fine reason. I just thought you did it for some personal reason." Rin chuckled at the girl's flustered attitude.

"It _is_ personal. If people can't feel safe where they live, then there is something wrong," Euri mumbled, her hands messing with her braid.

"Is something wrong, Euri?" Rin said, concerned.

"Well, it's because of my home. I had a loving family with my mom and stepdad, but for some reason, I never felt like I belonged. That's why I do what I do," the girl continued, her gaze focused on the ground.

"It's OK. I understand. When I was young, I lost my parents, so I had to move around a lot, and I never felt the same as I did when I had my mom and dad," Rin said with a peaceful smile, hoping to relax the girl.

Euri slowly stood up and dusted herself off, and offering a hand to the reporter. "You know, I don't normally like talking to others, but for some reason, you're different," Euri said with a sigh.

"Oh? Does that make me special?" Rin said with a soft chuckle.

Euri's cheeks went red with a blush and she quickly turned around. Walking towards the exit and without saying a word, she left, leaving Rin confused, but with a smile on his face. When Rin looked down, he noticed the book that Euri had left behind and chuckled a little.

"'Love Across the Sea'. Well, I should probably return this to the library," Rin mumbled to himself, taking the book and leaving the garden.

_Even though she has a hard outer shell, I think I really understand Euri, now._

-Noriyori-

:==: Library

As Rin stepped into the room, he rubbed his eyes, it being much darker than the garden he was just in. Looking around, it seemed like no was there, and he quickly made his way to the romance section to return the book. As he scanned the shelves, Rin heard a soft cough and turned to see Noriyori sitting at a table, illuminated by a desk lamp, a small book in his hands.

The young man set the book down and turned, spotting Rin. Smiling, he waved him over.

"What brings you here today, Rin?" Noriyori said, sighing as Rin sat down across from him.

"Oh, just returning a book," Rin replied holding up the book in his hand.

"'Love Across the Sea?' Isn't that a romance novel for teen girls?" Noriyori asked, puzzled.

"I'm… uh… just returning it for a friend," Rin quickly responded, stumbling over his words.

Noriyori gave Rin a strange look before breaking out into a large grin, chuckling a little, and then relaxing a bit.

"So, tell me, has this friend of yours told the girl he likes about his feelings?" Noriyori said, still with a grin.

"Seriously? Are you one to talk?" Rin joked back, trying to steer clear of the subject.

Rin could see the young analyst turn a bright red. Well, as bright as he could go with his pale complexion. Laughing a bit, Rin spotted the book in Noriyori's hands and had to do a double take.

"'Murder and How it's Done'? Why on Earth are you reading that?" Rin asked worriedly.

"Well, if we have to go through another trial, I wanted to be prepared," Noriyori said confidently.

Rin and Noriyori discussed tactics and the trials for a while.

"They're all a bit jarring, if you ask me," Rin said, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I think the strangest bit is the execution. They seem to relate to our titles," Noriyori said with a sigh.

"Jeez, don't remind me." Rin grimaced.

"Hehe. I wonder what mine would be like," Noriyori said with a small twinkle in his eyes.

"How can you be so fascinated with death like this?" Rin asked, worried about the answer he might get.

"Well, it's the main reason I'm a forensic specialist. Death is something that I know will happen, so I might as well study it," Noriyori said casually.

"H-how can you say that?!" Rin stammered in disbelief.

"Oh, I don't mean it with regards to here. I just mean that I was fascinated with death because it was something different. I was sort of a sheltered child, and when I finally got to do something, it was boring," Noriyori quickly replied, holding up his hands.

"Still, it's kinda dark, don't you think? Looking at bodies all day long," Rin said, shaking his head at the thought.

"Not at all. They might be dead, but that doesn't mean they can't speak," the young man said with a frown.

"What do you mean by that?" the reported asked, confused.

"Well, every time I look at a body, it tells me the story of how they lived, be it a normal life with a natural death, or someone who was murdered. Every body has a story, and they all deserved to be heard," Noriyori said with a determined expression on his face.

"Wow, I've never seen someone so determined like that before," Rin said.

"Well, let's just say that it's something that means a lot to me," Noriyori said, relaxing and regaining some of his composure.

"You know, Noriyori, you're a bit strange, but in a good way." Rin chuckled a little.

"Thank you, Rin, but you will have to excuse me, now. I must return to my room pretty soon," Noriyori replied, standing and giving a small bow before heading out the door.

_A bit peculiar in some ways, but Noriyori is a nice enough guy, I guess._

-Shiori-

As Rin exited the library, he could hear someone coming closer, breathing a little rapidly. Turning, the young reporter noticed Shiori, dressed in a blue tracksuit, coming up the stairs, her brow covered in sweat. After reaching the top of the stairs, the young woman put her back to a wall and grabbed a water bottle from her side. Suddenly noticing the reporter, Shiori waved him over.

"Hey there, Masko. Catching up on your reading?" Shiori asked, still catching her breath.

"Yeah, something like that," Rin replied. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Oh, this? Well, since we've got three floors open, now, it makes training a lot easier." The boxer said with a large silly grin.

"Uh… If you wanted to train, why not train in the dojo?" Rin asked, a bit confused.

"The stairs help me train my leg muscles, duh…" Shiori replied as if it was the obvious answer. "Hey, you should totally train with me sometime. It's always better with a partner."

"Sure. I guess I could always use a workout," Rin chuckled, stretching a little.

Rin and Shiori ran through the school three times over.

After reaching the bottom of the stairs on the first floor for the third time, the poor reporter was about to collapse from the lack of oxygen, and his lungs felt like they were about to explode, but Shiori, on the other hand, looked perfectly fine. The boxer was taking a second, stretching a little bit more before turning to the gasping Rin.

"Dang, that felt good. You up for the last two?" Shiori asked, perky and pleased.

"What are you? A freaking superhuman?" Rin gasped, finally regaining his breath.

"Oh, come on, now. It was just a little exercise." The boxer chuckled, taking another swig from her water bottle.

"A little exercise? My legs feel like they want to fall off!" Rin moaned, slumping his back against the wall.

"Fine, we'll take a small break," Shiori grumbled, taking a seat, herself.

"I gotta ask; how did you become so strong?" Rin asked, regaining his breath slightly.

"Well, you gotta be the strongest when you're taking care of five younger siblings. There's no time to be weak," Shiori sighed, a dark expression on her face.

"What about your parents? Did they help?" Rin mumbled, trying to tread carefully.

"My dad… He died young, and my mom… Well, let's just say that she never really came back from it," the young woman said, her eyes seeming to remember a darker time. "I basically decided really quickly that, if I was not only gonna survive, but take care of my family, I had to do things—things I wasn't proud of."

"Is that's why you became a boxer? To protect your family?" Rin asked, starting to stand back up.

Shiori chuckled to herself, a smile returning to her face. "Actually, it was a day after school when a guy tried to steal my little brother's backpack. I beat the crap out of him, and it turns out a few of my classmates saw. They told me about some underground fights, and that it was an easy way to earn some quick cash."

"So, you fought for the money you needed?" Rin said with a sigh.

"Well, it started out like that, but over time, I actually started to enjoy it—the thrill of the fight, the screaming of the crowds, and the all the times when odds were stacked against me. To say the least, it was such a rush," Shiori replied happily, the fire back in her eyes.

"That's gotta be one hell of a feeling to make you go all the way with it," Rin chuckled, dusting off his pants.

"Well, you know what they say. 'Determination allows mere mortals to soar to unimaginable heights.'" Shiori laughed loudly as if she was waiting for a challenge.

"Thank you for talking with me, Shiori," Rin said, extending his hand.

"Hey, no problem, and if you ever feel the itch to run again, just holler," the boxer replied, taking Rin's hand in a vice-like grip.

_Though she's not the softest person around, Shiori has a relaxing side to her._

Bidding goodbye to the boxer, Rin made his way back to his room, ready to shower and pass out. When he got back to his room, he noticed Sigma standing at his door, a grim expression on her face. Waving to the tactician, Rin made his way over to her, a pit of worry in his stomach.

"Hey there, Sigma. Is everything OK?" Rin asked.

"Not really, no. I found this disturbing note under my door earlier," Sigma replied, handing the reporter a slip of paper.

Rin quickly scanned the note. It seemed like a normal white stationery note card with the school's crest printed on the back, but on the front, there was some writing. 'We know who you really are,' was written in very clearly in cursive, and nothing else seemed to be on it.

"What does it mean?" Rin asked, confused, handing the note back.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that," Sigma replied sternly, tucking the card into her pocket.

"Well, then, what _can_ you tell me, Sigma?" Rin frowned, crossing his arms.

"Just that things might get dangerous, and if they do, I will be relying on you," the tactician sighed, her features softening a little.

Rin grumbled a little, but then nodded. "I'll do my best, Sigma. Just promise me that, if something happens, you will tell me."

"That kindness might be foolish here, but I understand. If something happens, I'll tell you." Sigma replied, giving a small nod before walking to her room.

_Ding, dong, __bing__, bong._ "This is a school announcement . It is now 10:00 PM. As such, it is now officially nighttime, and some areas will closed off. Sweet dreams. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite."

Rin sighed, walking into his room as his mind filled with thoughts and possibilities regarding Sigma's note. What did it mean, and who sent it? Soon, though, tiredness overtook the young man, and his eyelids started to feel heavy. After a brief shower, Rin slipped into bed and quickly fell asleep, only hoping for everything to return to normal.

* * *

**A/N: Um… Hey, there. I hope that anyone who was reading this story still has some interest in it. Anyways, I'm really sorry for the outrageously long wait, and I'm truly sorry for putting my readers on the backburner. Next time, which I swear will come sooner rather than later, will be a party event with everyone. As always, please leave your thoughts in the review section or P.M. them to me.**

**Rinjai.**


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